A couple of style questions for you today:
Terrace house (as seen in today's London Lite) or terraced house?
Teenage employee (as seen in raw copy) or teenaged employee?
oblong (and a bit about ovals)
3 days ago
Showing posts with label house style. Show all posts
Showing posts with label house style. Show all posts
On the case with case-sensitive URLs
I came across a case-sensitive URL recently while subbing a feature for one of our print publications. Here it is:
http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/infoAndGuide/coIdFraud.shtml
If you change any of the upper-case letters in the address to lower-case (or vice versa), the page won't load. How strange.
We wanted to list the URL in the feature, but not only did it break house style, I thought it might confuse some of our readers. We could have put a note explaining that the URL was case-sensitive - but that seemed a bit ridiculous.
In the end we used a URL-shortening service (such as Tiny.cc) to come up with a new, case-insensitive URL, and listed that in the feature instead.
Oh, here's some information about case-sensitive URLs.
http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/infoAndGuide/coIdFraud.shtml
If you change any of the upper-case letters in the address to lower-case (or vice versa), the page won't load. How strange.
We wanted to list the URL in the feature, but not only did it break house style, I thought it might confuse some of our readers. We could have put a note explaining that the URL was case-sensitive - but that seemed a bit ridiculous.
In the end we used a URL-shortening service (such as Tiny.cc) to come up with a new, case-insensitive URL, and listed that in the feature instead.
Oh, here's some information about case-sensitive URLs.
House style: job titles, positions and ranks
We're currently overhauling our house style so that it is consistent across two print publications and one online publication, and the issue of job titles has come up. Currently, on one of the print publications at least, we use lower case for job titles but initial caps for "positions of public office and police ranks", for example:
(I know, that John Doe has had a very checkered career...)
This approach has several drawbacks, notably a) it can look inconsistent to readers who don't understand the rules behind it, and b) it leads to interminable discussions as to whether local councillors really should get initial caps.
So we're thinking of taking the lead of The Guardian and using lower case for all job titles and positions of public office. However The Guardian does use initial caps for police ranks (I don't know how it treats military ranks, but I imagine it also gives them initial caps).
What do you think? And if you work for a publication, what approach does it take?
Incidentally, I really like The Guardian for putting its style guide online and making it so clear and easy to use. The guide also displays both wit and grumpiness, which I think are necessary components of any style guide (or sub)...
- senior reporter John Doe
- Prime Minister John Doe
- Police Constable John Doe
(I know, that John Doe has had a very checkered career...)
This approach has several drawbacks, notably a) it can look inconsistent to readers who don't understand the rules behind it, and b) it leads to interminable discussions as to whether local councillors really should get initial caps.
So we're thinking of taking the lead of The Guardian and using lower case for all job titles and positions of public office. However The Guardian does use initial caps for police ranks (I don't know how it treats military ranks, but I imagine it also gives them initial caps).
What do you think? And if you work for a publication, what approach does it take?
Incidentally, I really like The Guardian for putting its style guide online and making it so clear and easy to use. The guide also displays both wit and grumpiness, which I think are necessary components of any style guide (or sub)...
No FT style book... no comment
Tucked into my Christmas stocking was a copy of the Financial Times Style Guide; whether Mrs Apus was commenting on my lack of style I have yet to ascertain. In any case, while flicking through it as an aid to the digestion of a rather fine rib of beef on Christmas afternoon I came across the following, under 'honorifics':
This alone was enough to put me off the entire 218-page guide.
Why? Because the suffix VC stands for Victoria Cross, which is the UK's highest award for valour, to the extent that many heroes have been awarded their VCs posthumously. A Queen's Counsel is a senior barrister (lawyer) who is appointed on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor.
Subs who run foul of the libel laws might have good reason to fear encountering a QC, but do the FT's subs really rate a VC below a QC?
Whoever came up with that one should be ashamed of themselves.
PS
The same style guide calls for the use of Mr/Mrs/Ms in news stories -- except for "people in show business, sportsmen and the dead".
It was almost enough to put a chap off his Christmas pudding.
Do not give awards such as VC... Queen's Counsel keep their QC.
This alone was enough to put me off the entire 218-page guide.
Why? Because the suffix VC stands for Victoria Cross, which is the UK's highest award for valour, to the extent that many heroes have been awarded their VCs posthumously. A Queen's Counsel is a senior barrister (lawyer) who is appointed on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor.
Subs who run foul of the libel laws might have good reason to fear encountering a QC, but do the FT's subs really rate a VC below a QC?
Whoever came up with that one should be ashamed of themselves.
PS
The same style guide calls for the use of Mr/Mrs/Ms in news stories -- except for "people in show business, sportsmen and the dead".
It was almost enough to put a chap off his Christmas pudding.
My good friend Mr Wholesale
An Engine Room regular has suggested that Apus and I are a little too critical of the writers we work with. By way of apology, I'd like to share an anecdote showing that sub-editors are fallible too.
I was checking a page proof when I came across the sentence: "The licence was lost by Mr Meats Wholesale" - 'Mr Meats Wholesale' of course being the name of a wholesaler. However I read it as the name of a person: first name Meats, surname Wholesale.
As a result I was left wondering why Apus, who I knew had subbed the copy, had used 'Mr' before this person's name, as it isn't our house style to use titles.
Eventually I reached the conclusion that 'Meats Wholesale' could be the name of either a man or a woman, and therefore the 'Mr' was necessary to indicate the gender of this person called Meat. Well, it made sense to me...
I was checking a page proof when I came across the sentence: "The licence was lost by Mr Meats Wholesale" - 'Mr Meats Wholesale' of course being the name of a wholesaler. However I read it as the name of a person: first name Meats, surname Wholesale.
As a result I was left wondering why Apus, who I knew had subbed the copy, had used 'Mr' before this person's name, as it isn't our house style to use titles.
Eventually I reached the conclusion that 'Meats Wholesale' could be the name of either a man or a woman, and therefore the 'Mr' was necessary to indicate the gender of this person called Meat. Well, it made sense to me...
