"publish in" vs. "publish on"

Question

I've been searching thoroughly for both constructions, but I haven't been able to find out when to use each of them.
Some rules of thumb I've found:

This forum post and this one suggest publish in should be used when the place of publishing is a three-dimensional place and publish on should be used when it's a surface. This makes a bit of sense to me, but does not seem a very academical explanation; whereas there are some cases in which it would be hard to distinguish which kind of place it is.

When the place is virtual, on is used. Example: Publish on Google Play

My particular cases are the following:

To publish an application __ [in/on] Google Play

To publish an application __ [in/on] a virtual market

Is there a way to identify where to use publish in or publish on? Are they mutually exchangeable?

Robusto · Accepted Answer

Google Play and the iTunes Store are virtual locations, so I would follow the normal usage for other such locations (i.e., the Web), and prefer on in most cases.

One exception would be if something were being published in a recognized journal that has both a physical and a virtual presence: I would refer to "an article in The New York Times" for example, whether it's being read online or in newsprint. The same goes for JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), and even the Oxford English Dictionary.

David Krause · Answer

You are published in a magazine. but published on the web or on paper.

On is if you are referring to media, and In is if you are to the medium.

John Lawler · Answer

In this case, the difference between in and on boils down to which Dimensional Metaphor the speaker (or writer) is applying.

From the Deixis Lectures:

".. the preposition on is said to ascribe to the referent of its head noun the property of being a line or a surface, and the preposition in is said to ascribe to the referent of its head noun the notion of a bounded two-dimensional or three-dimensional space."

We daily encounter and use dimensional metaphors with on and in for things that are not physical.

2-Dimensional: on the page, on the table, on vacation, on top of the problem, on Sunday 
3-Dimensional: in trouble, in on the secret, in the novel, in the time alotted, in March

That's the difference between lawn and yard, for instance.

A lawn is a two-dimensional space, so a human being can be on the lawn; but understanding a report that someone is in the lawn requires some unusual assumptions.
A yard is a bounded two-dimensional space, and its bounding makes it three-dimensional with regard to human presence. Thus one is in the yard, and saying on the yard invites a mental search for a different meaning of yard.

Executive summary:

If you think of Google Play as a container full of stuff, use in.   
  If you think of it as a page on a screen, use on.

h3ricopt4 · Answer

'Published in our (online) catalog' sounds fine to me, as 'in' is the right preposition for the word 'catalog' which is a published physical format. For example, you wouldn't say 'Published on our online magazine.' That just sounds awkward. I prefer 'in' for references to specific physical publication formats even if they are actually on the internet, i.e magazine, catalog, guide, etc.

Answered by h3ricopt4 on April 6, 2021

Greybeard · Answer

When the place is virtual, on is used. Example: Publish on Google Play

This has now been changed to "with".
In = inside; within - this gives the idea of the item being inside/within boundaries.
On = upon - this gives the idea of the item being on a surface of some sort.
Publish on Google Play is correct because "Google Play" is seen as a (virtual) platform. A platform is a surface.

"publish in" vs. "publish on"

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