Re: Punctuation tips (not that you need them!)

[Tom Johnson <johnsont -at- STARCUTTER -dot- COM>]

-----Original Message-----
From:   Aoidin Scully [SMTP:ascully -at- FLEXICOM -dot- COM]
Sent:   Thursday, June 03, 1999 6:17 AM
To:     TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
Subject:        Re: Punctuation tips (not that you need them!)

You seem to presume that all tech writers are from the US. Consequently,
I think an industry-standard styleguide is a terrible idea. Since most
tech writers do reside in the US, it would no doubt use US-based
spelling and punctuation - and there is no way I am going to adhere to
that. I, and my European readership, find US style just plain wrong.

Remember there is life outside America!

Aoidin


Aoidin,

Certainly there are international differences in punctuation and spelling.
That doesn't mean that a style guide is a bad idea, only that it would be
more beneficial in certain parts of the world. There are some things that
are common across technical documents (lets limit this to Western
languages) that might be addressed by a style guide. For instance:

Should captions be above or below a picture?

Should illustrations have a border around them?

Where should trademark information be listed?

What symbols should be used to identify warnings or cautions?

What is the difference between a Warning and a Caution? Danger?

If nothing else, a US English Technical Writing Style Guide would probably
make a good starting point for other countries that speak English to make
their own style guide for country-specific punctuation and spelling. In
fact, it might make it easier for those of us who find ourselves writing
for other markets if we could pick up the version for Canada or England or
Ireland.

Tom Johnson
Elk Rapids, Michigan - On the freshwater coast

johnsont -at- starcutter -dot- com     work
thomasj -at- freeway -dot- net          personal

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