Further, we suggested using "VPN" as a replacement term, and that was a mistake. We understand what a VPN is, often defined as private IP traffic tunneled over the public Internet. But the term VPN is also being used in a generic sense to refer to an organization's private IP network. Readers feel strongly that VPN should not be misused in this way and that we should encourage the use of the term "private network" instead.

"While it may be a little bit dated to refer to the internal network as an intranet, it is just plain incorrect to call it a VPN," wrote reader Darren. "It's an actual private network, and there is just not a cool, hip term for it."

We completely agree, and have changed the original article accordingly.

The rest of the criticism seemed to stem from a misunderstanding about the story itself. The point of the story was to talk about language, not about the underlying technology to which it refers.

For example, we never said that the World Wide Web is obsolete (thank goodness!); we meant that nobody bothers saying all three words anymore. When was the last time you heard someone say, "I'll look that up on the World Wide Web"? Instead they refer to the "Internet" or the "Web."