Some changes were made recently to a couple of FAQ entries and I think that we should discuss the changes made. Specifically adding commas to lists. You see, when I went to school, lists did not need commas; however I see in CVS that they were put in.
So which is it to be commas in a list or no commas?
In either case ALL the existing documents, including help, need to be checked and corrected to whatever standard we choose.
Are you speaking of a vertical list, like this? * First item, * Second item, * Third item.
versus * First item * Second item * Third item
Or of a running list, like this? I am doing a, b, and c. versus I am doing a, b and c.
In each case, either choice is correct. It's a matter of style (and partly a difference between US and UK conventions).
When editing *new* docs at OOoAuthors, I use the no-comma choice for vertical lists. It's the most common modern style, AFAIK, and the one we should use IMO. I do not, however, enforce a particular style on running lists.
At OOoAuthors we have chosen not to enforce any one punctuation style or spelling preference, as long as any one document (a chapter, in our case) is internally consistent. Therefore the chapters uploaded to Docs are going to show some variation.
I don't see any reason why *existing* (published) docs (from whatever source, not just Authors) should be changed to conform to one particular standard. While consistency in punctuation across documents is a good thing, it ranks very far down on any priority list that I would make.
Exception: if a document is being revised for some other reason -- such as updating from V1 to V2, I would change the list punctuation at that time.
Regards, Jean Jean Hollis Weber
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