TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Punctuation in quotes -- American style From:Richard Hamilton <dick -at- rlhamilton -dot- net> To:TECHWR-L Writers <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Tue, 20 Aug 2013 09:50:46 -0700
Hi Stuart,
Thanks for the suggestions. You are, of course, exactly correct on reader expectations, though it is nice to know that I can deal with reader expectations unencumbered by management craziness (or at least craziness caused by anyone but me:-).
At the risk of derailing the discussion, I wonder if you or any of the other folks on the list have a favorite among the various IT-industry style guides? Back when I was managing a writing group, I was familiar the Microsoft and Sun guides, and I liked the Sun guide, mostly because I was working in a Unix/Linux shop. But, it's been a few years, and I'd be curious as to whether there is a current favorite. Or is the industry too diverse to settle on a favorite?
Best regards,
Richard
On Aug 19, 2013, at 7:20 PM, Stuart Burnfield wrote:
> Hi Richard -
>
>> BTW, regarding Gene's note on style guides, this book is being published
>> by my company, so beyond bowing in the general direction of the
>> Chicago Manual of Style, as corporate overlord I do whatever I want:-).
>
> That's true, though it can't hurt to know what relevant style guides say, as they influence readers' expectations.
>
> This is what IBM Style has to say. I expect the style guides for other IT-industry publishers such as Microsoft, Apple, Sun and O'Reilly would have similar advice.
>
-------
XML Press
XML for Technical Communicators http://xmlpress.net
hamilton -at- xmlpress -dot- net
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
New! Doc-to-Help 2013 features the industry's first HTML5 editor for authoring.