'log in to' or 'log into'?

[Andrew Warren]

Claire Conant [mailto:claireconant at comcast.net] wrote:

> Feel free to disagree, but your rationale is just like saying,
> well, the masses do it, so it must be okay.

    I don't think so, Claire.

    I'd characterize it more like saying, well, all four phrases
    are in my dictionary, they're synonyms, they're all commonly
    used and no one will misunderstand me no matter which one I
    choose... But I have to pick one SOMEHOW, so I'll pick the one
    that most other people have picked.

> Most editors of software documentation (of which I'm one) would
> change your content.

    Well, of course you would; you already said that you slavishly
    follow MMoS.  There's nothing wrong with that -- it's your
    house style, so whatever -- but Apple and Sun prefer "log in".
    If an editor followed either of those companies' style guides,
    my content wouldn't be changed at all.

    AP says "login, logon, logoff" (without any explanation or
    differentiation between noun and verb forms), so an editor who
    strictly followed that guide would change my content AND yours.
    Vive la difference.

    Clearly, though, the original poster doesn't have ANY style
    guide that dictates a preferred phrase, so she has to make the
    decision some other way.  I don't think my suggestion was any
    more arbitrary than "use Microsoft's style instead of Sun's".

    In any case, I'm glad that we agree that the answer to the
    question she actually asked -- "three words or two?" -- is
    "three".  

    -Andrew