Re: It's downstyle hands down

[Bill Burns <WBURNS -at- VAX -dot- MICRON -dot- COM>]

I haven't had a chance to respond to this thread until now.  I am yet
one more dissenter (with reservations).  The reason most commonly given
for downstyle headings seems to be readability.  Two questions come to my mind:

        o  If words are commonly spelled with initial caps at the beginning of
           a sentence, are they really less readable when capitalized elsewhere?

           If the shape of a word reinforces reader identification and most of
           these words are commonly used in both contexts (i.e., readers have
           seen both forms on a regular basis), then readers probably recognize
           forms with initial caps as well as forms without caps with relative
           ease.

        o  If the point of a heading is to provide a visual cue to readers about
           a new focus or a different topic, then is ease of reading a valid
           reason for using downstyle headings?

           The point, in my mind, is whether a heading should provide a smooth
           transition from one idea to another or if it should divert the reader
           to a new line of thought.  Since I see headings as a means of
           signaling a change in focus, I don't consider smooth transition as
           its purpose.  If I want a transition, I put it at the end of the
           preceding paragraph.  If the two topics are that closely related, I
           might reconsider the wisdom of putting them under separate headings.

One person suggested the use of infinitive tags (e.g., "To clean the
doohickey...") in addition to traditional-style headings.  I've been using
this technique in my documents and find it a good method of signaling a new
information and new procedures.

I'm not slavishly devoted to convention, but I'm not prone to dismissing it
unless I have a good justification.  If downstyle headings are more functional,
then the practice seems a reasonable idea.  If we switch for a single reason in
exclusion to other valid and equally compelling reasons not to switch, then
we're shooting ourselves in the feet.

Bill Burns                            *       These are MY opinions,
Assm. Technical Writer/Editor         *         MINE I TELL YOU!
Micron Technology, Inc.               *
Boise, ID                             * (not that they amount to much. . .)
WBURNS -at- VAX -dot- MICRON -dot- COM                 *