RE : RE: Your thoughts on punctuation?

[Yves JEAUROND <jingting -at- rogers -dot- com>]

Typographical wisdom dictates that using ALL CAPS
does mislead users on messages of the same length,
 especially short ones.
   
  There are exceptions: the display may be too small or badly designed
for CAPS/no caps to make a difference. You'll have to judge the usability. 
   
  So...
  If the machine is making the user guess as to what
happens next, dots can punctuate the intent. "Calling server..."
   
  For politeness, a period is cool.
  "Please wait."
Tell your engineers gently about customer etiquette, manners, protocol,
 grammar and syntax. :-) And how rude customers find it when these
are ignored.
   
  Yves Jeaurond
  -- Reading David Allen's _Getting Things Done_ (2001)--
  
 Warren <awarren -at- synaptics -dot- com> a écrit :
  Ladonna Weeks wrote:

> Our product has a keypad used for installation and diagnostics. It can
> display up to four lines of 20 characters each. What is correct
> punctuation for brief, informative statements, such as the following:

> 
> (line 1) Calling server
> (line 4) Please wait
> 
> Should there be a period after each statement? I'm having trouble
> getting the programmers to add periods and I wonder if the convention
> for such displays is to leave them off. What is your experience?

Ladonna:

I don't use periods for that sort of thing; I punctuate and capitalize
as I would on a sign:

NO PARKING

Monday-Friday
9 am - 6 pm

-----------------------

WELCOME!

Please come in

-----------------------

CALLING SERVER

Please Wait

-----------------------

-Andrew

=== Andrew Warren - awarren -at- synaptics -dot- com
=== Synaptics, Inc - Santa Clara, CA
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