2000-11-06
Here is three questions I'd like to see answered. I don't plan to write,
but if someone does, they might want to include these:
1.) Why is it okay to use the SYMBOL for millimetres (mm), but not for the
others?
2.) How exact are conversions to be?
3.) What rule specifies exchanging unit names (i.e. metres to yards) instead
of actually converting the units?
John
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On
Behalf Of James J. Wentworth
Sent: Monday, 2000-11-06 18:19
To: U.S. Metric Association
Subject: [USMA:9039] AP Stylebook (feedback address)
Below is the postal address of the Associated Press and the name of its
President and Chief Executive Officer. Regarding "The Associated Press
Stylebook and Libel Manual," Norm Goldstein is the editor of it. In my
experience, Mr. Goldstein has been very responsive. I found an error in an
earlier edition (it contained an incorrect definition of ASCII).
He thanked
me for informing him about it and it was corrected in the 1998 edition.
The metric use guidelines in the AP Stylebook (which I have also reproduced
below) are not anti-metric at all. Rather, it is a case of AP reporters
ignoring this portion of their own stylebook! I'm going to write
to both of
these gentlemen concerning this problem, and I invite all interested USMA
list members to do so as well. Here is the AP's address (letters to Norm
Goldstein can be sent to this mailing address as well):
Mr. Louis D. Boccardi
President and Chief Executive Officer
The Associated Press
50 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10020
I have two copies of "The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual," and
here is what it says regarding the use of metric units (from the 1998
edition). When you read this, you will see that most AP reporters
are going
against the instructions given in the AP Stylebook! Here is the full
quotation:
************************************************************
--METRIC SYSTEM-- In general, metric terms should be included in a story
when they are relevant.
There are no hard-and-fast rules on when they are relevant, but the
following two guidelines have been developed to cover questions likely to
arise as metric measurements gain increased acceptance in the
United States:
-- Use metric terms when they are the primary form in which the source of a
story has provided statistics. Follow the metric units with equivalents in
the terms more widely known in the United States. Normally, the equivalent
should be in parentheses after the metric figure. A general statement such
as: "A kilometer equals about five-eighths of a mile," would be acceptable,
however, to avoid repeated use of parenthetical equivalents in a story that
uses kilometers many times.
-- Provide metric equivalents for traditional forms if a metric unit has
become widely known. As speedometers with kilometer markings become more
prevalent, for example, a story about speed limits might list
miles per hour
and provide kilometers per hour in parentheses.
ABBREVIATIONS: The abbreviation "mm" for millimeter is acceptable in
references to film widths (8 mm film) and weapons (a 105 mm cannon). (Note
space between numeral and abbreviation.)
Do not otherwise use metric abbreviations in news copy.
The principal abbreviations, for reference in the event they are used by a
source, are: "g" (gram), "kg" (kilogram), "t" (metric ton), "m" (meter),
"cm" (centimeter), "km" (kilometer), "mm" (millimeter), "L" (liter, capital
"L" to avoid confusion with the figure "1") and "mL" (milliliter).
CONVERSION FORMULAS: A conversion table for frequently used metric terms
follows.
In addition, separate entries for "gram," "meter," "liter," "Celsius" and
other frequently used metric units define them and give examples of how to
convert them to equivalents in the terminology that has been used in the
United States. Similarly, entries for "pound," "inch," "quart,"
"Fahrenheit," etc., contain examples of how to convert these terms
to metric
forms.
To avoid the need for long strings of figures, prefixes are added to the
metric units to denote fractional elements or large multiples.
The prefixes
are: "pico-" (one-trillionth), "nano-" (one-billionth), "micro-"
(one-millionth), "milli-" (one-thousandth), "centi-" (one-hundredth),
"deci-" (one-tenth), "deka-" (10 units), "hecto-" (100 units), "giga-" (1
billion units), "tera-" (1 trillion units). Entries for each prefix show
how to convert a unit preceeded by the prefix to the basic unit.
<The conversion chart is just like ones we've all seen before, so I won't
reproduce it here.>
Jason
