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> Would it be acceptable to consistently mix my standards?
Answering this question could very easily cause one to suddenly be stepping
into something soft and unpleasant, particularly with respect to the word
'consistently.' However, since the index is generally the primary way in which
people find information, I have always allowed exceptions to my chosen indexing
'standard' if I thought the user benefited from it. I think we have to keep in
mind that the purpose of an index to begin with is to help users find
information. If your style of indexing gets in the way of that occasionally, I
think you need to be somewhat flexible. This is not to suggest that we should
be sloppy indexers or that anything goes, but if your style buries a reference
in a place a user would probably never look, what is the point in having the
reference to begin with? I am never uncomfortable with a digression in style if
it serves a greater good. Form should always follow function (except in the
Marketing Department :-) ).
