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:Using capital letters From:Jennifer O'Neill <jennyon -at- ARITECH -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 8 Aug 1997 17:12:02 +0000
A question for the weekend.
A tech writer who recently joined my company uses capital letters in
a way I can't quite follow and am not very keen about. She just
handed in a manual with sentences like:
The Red LED on the Alarm Panel will be lit.
or
The Display scrolls through the options.
When I asked her about it she said that these were key words.
I can't see what benefit it is the the user
to have 'red', display or 'alarm panel' et al written like that. I have to try
to get everyone writing in the same style and as most manuals are
written by engineers feel I'm asking for problems to tell them to
write the first letter of key words with a capital letter. Then it
all gets translated into 8 languages, with their associated usages of
capital letters. And what may only be one word in English can become
a few in another language. I want a simple life.
What do others think?
Jennifer
TECHWR-L (Technical Communication) List Information: To send a message
to 2500+ readers, e-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot- Send commands
to LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU (e.g. HELP or SIGNOFF TECHWR-L).
Search the archives at http://www.documentation.com/ or search and
browse the archives at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html
