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.
I'll put my two cents in on this one, because it's an issue we've
questioned recently. The NY Times (not that it's a definitive
authority) spells it E-mail in keeping with words that predate E-mail,
such as T-shirt, H-bomb, and A-frame, and capitalizes it when it occurs.
If you consider it in that context, it makes sense to capitalize and
hyphenate it, IMHO.
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Michael Lewis [SMTP:lewism -at- brandle -dot- com -dot- au]
>Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 1998 10:35 PM
>To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
>Subject: Re: e-mail??????
>
>Smokey Lynne L Bare wrote:
>
>> Well.....Three years ago we did a study on this when a spelling style
>> guide was created for a technology forum. With five technical textbook
>> justifications the winner was:
>>
>> ***** E-mail ****** E is cap'd all the time and (at that time) was used
>> as a noun or adjective.
>
>Now, now, Smokey. It's not that long since you upbraided me for
>hyphenating "online" -- because it's not done that way any longer. Three
>years is plenty of time for the email convention to have changed.
>
>--
>Michael Lewis
>Brandle Pty Limited, Sydney, Australia
>PO Box 1249, Strawberry Hills, NSW 2012
>Suite 8, The Watertower, 1 Marian St, Redfern 2016
>http://www.ozemail.com.au/~lewism
>Tel +61-2-9310-2224 ... Fax +61-2-9310-5056
>
>
>