On 2011/11/06 4:11 PM, Tom Davies wrote: [...] > We have an opportunity to introduce people to those terms gently but > also to help push the language to evolve a little in a direction we > like. [...] > My preference would be for how-to and read-me as adjectives, not > nouns, in order to help mainstream pedants understand the > documentation. In titles i prefer How-To and Read-Me in order to be > more consistent with other words written in Title Case. Obviously > some titles are all capitals and that is probably how HOW-TO and > READ-ME started. > > Just because other people, such as MicroSoft, do things badly doesn't > mean we need to continue using their way. Language evolves.
Hi Tom and everyone -- This is my first time posting to the list. I'm a new reader and user, but I have a long history and familiarity with Unix and some Linux in limited technical realms. I'm also a former long-time newspaper copy editor, used to Associated Press and Guardian style guides, with some familiarity with Chicago and The Economist and the 90s-era Wired Style Guide. I do understand how HOWTO comes about, alongside README files, and I can get wanting to help evolve a language, as well as the desire for consistency. But to me, the primary goal of any document or text for the general public is common understanding, and I think that is the reason many style guides are very slow to adapt. Aside from filenaming conventions, I would suggest using "how to" as a verb, and "how-to" as a noun or adjective. When starting a sentence or in a section heading, only capitalize the H. When speaking about a textfile, (again, new user of LO; I don't even know if these files exist), I think HOWTO is is a fine exception. My reasoning is based on Associated Press, but equally on my 'ear' and 'eye'. The AP Stylebook issues only a guideline; while it has specific citations for a lot of applications, here it is up to the editor to interpret and implement: > hyphen (-) Hyphens are joiners. Use them to avoid ambiguity > or to form a single idea from two or more words. To me, using the conventional, or mainstream, style form would have broader ease of understanding; I would rather go old-school than to give an unfamiliar reader pause and take him away from the content of what he is trying to digest. Best, Rick -- Unsubscribe instructions: E-mail to [email protected] Problems? http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/mailing-lists/how-to-unsubscribe/ Posting guidelines + more: http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette List archive: http://listarchives.libreoffice.org/global/documentation/ All messages sent to this list will be publicly archived and cannot be deleted
