Squashed version of #5242

Isn't it very un-English to attach words to each other?

@laanwj Yes, it is. But online people seem to go for absolute efficiency. Thus e-mail became email.

It is very... Finnish, perhaps? They love prefixes and suffixes.

In Dutch and German you can pretty much arbitrarily join words together (use "AB" mean "B of A"), so I believe @laanwj and myself aren't qualified to judge this :)

Google search:

"blockchain": 3,860,000 results
"block chain": 1,030,000 results

@sandakersmann
When googling after "block chain" around 50% of the result are pages with the word "blockchain".

Satoshi was the inventor of the blockchain and the creator of Bitcoin. Kind of funny that Satoshi's invention was the blockchain, but he didn't mention it in the White Paper. Other inventions in one word: dishwasher, aircraft and television.

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

NAK from me. We all know that "block chain" and "blockchain" are the same thing, and the reason for writing is to communicate, not to enforce arbitrary rules on each other.

Yes, we all understand all three alternatives. My motives were not to dictate what word other people use, but that we as a community could be proactive and influence which alternative that make it into the dictionaries. I also think this type of standardization in the source code would be helpful.

I still use "e-mail", not "email". Anyway, I thought blockchain was a company and the block chain was Satoshi's invention.

@rebroad Most links I find when searching for "blockchain" are indeed about the company, not the concept.

Aside, I had no idea that bicycles could also employ block chains:

A block chain, also called a "bar-link" or "block-and-bar" chain, is a mechanical drive chain. It is composed of side plates, where each plate straddles one end of a block and is connected to the block with a pin going through a hole at one end of the block. Block chains are simple, and often heavier and less efficient when compared with modern roller chains due to the lack of rolling motion as the chain engages and disengages the sprockets. However, they have advantages in specific applications, especially where no sprockets are needed, where strength is a greater concern than efficiency (high loads), and where the chain has special fixtures for holding or engaging a load.

Anyhow - I suggest waiting with this until blockchain is an official word. We're developers not a language committee.

Ok. Let's wait. I can make a new pull when Oxford Dictionaries Online picks a version of the word.