Re: punctuation et al. rules

Subject: Re: punctuation et al. rules
From: Kathleen MacDowell <kathleen -dot- eamd -at- gmail -dot- com>
To: "Cardimon, Craig" <ccardimon -at- m-s-g -dot- com>
Date: Mon, 20 Feb 2017 14:58:07 -0600

The additional thing to emphasize is that the hyphen in these types of
situations helps make it clear that the two parts are related. I.E., it's a
usability issue. I can't think of an example offhand where that would
apply, but it's something I think of whenever I see similar items w/o the
hyphen.

On Mon, Feb 20, 2017 at 2:43 PM, Cardimon, Craig <ccardimon -at- m-s-g -dot- com>
wrote:

> Diplomacy in all things, especially when you're right.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+ccardimon=m-s-g -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:
> techwr-l-bounces+ccardimon=m-s-g -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Ken
> Poshedly
> Sent: Monday, February 20, 2017 3:42 PM
> To: Wright, Lynne <Lynne -dot- Wright -at- Kronos -dot- com>; salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com;
> techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: Re: punctuation et al. rules
>
> Many thanks to all.
> I'll review what you've sent and be the diplomat.
> -- Ken in Atlanta
>
>
> On Monday, February 20, 2017 3:34 PM, "Wright, Lynne"
> <Lynne -dot- Wright -at- Kronos -dot- com> wrote:
>
>
> If he resists, I'd give in though.
>
> Its unlikely that the average reader is going to notice whether there is a
> hyphen or not.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+lynne -dot- wright=kronos -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:
> techwr-l-bounces+lynne -dot- wright=kronos -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of
> Chris Morton
> Sent: February-20-17 3:31 PM
> To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: Re: punctuation et al. rules
>
> In the end it boils down to what is going to help the reader.
>
> For me, I'm much more familiar seeing 7-pin than I am instances w/o the
> hyphen.
>
> Chris Morton
>
>
>
> â Substantive Editing â Technical Writing â Proofreading
> â Marketing Expertise â Mentoring Click to <
> http://t.sidekickopen68.com/e1t/c/5/f18dQhb0S7lC8dDMPbW2n0x6l2B9nM
> JN7t5XYgdnqQxW7fsH3H4XrddKW1pNgV-56dMhqf2Q-c6C02?t=https%3A%
> 2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fpub%2Fchris-morton%2F2%2F166%
> 2F6ba&si=6020636811198464Ï=56eea125-5d32-4552-b992-414841c9185f>
>
>
> On Mon, Feb 20, 2017 at 3:28 PM, Stuckey, Ginger <X2BVSHEW -at- southernco -dot- com>
> wrote:
>
> > Hi Ken,
> >
> > I wrote parts and service manuals for a garbage truck manufacturer in
> > a state next door to you. We did it with the hyphen. If you want more
> > examples.
> > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trailer_connectors_in_North_America
> > https://www.etrailer.com/question-136174.html
> > http://data.grammarbook.com/blog/numbers/hyphens-with-numbers/
> > http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/16/images/ch07_tab01.pdf
> > http://writing-skills.com/how-to-write-numbers-part-2-when-to-use-hyph
> > ens
> >
> >
> > Ginger Stuckey
> > Technical Writer
> > CB&A Project Management Services, LLC
> > Assigned to Southern Company Technical Publications
> > 205-992-5651
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: techwr-l-bounces+x2bvshew=southernco -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> [mailto:
> > techwr-l-bounces+x2bvshew=southernco -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf
> > techwr-l-bounces+Of
> > Ken Poshedly
> > Sent: Monday, February 20, 2017 2:19 PM
> > To: TECHWR-L Writing <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
> > Subject: punctuation et al. rules
> >
> > Here's a quickie.
> >
> > I work for a manufacturer of a China-based, heavy construction equipment.
> > Now that's, REAL hardware.
> >
> > Most of our source material is English-language stuff is right from
> > the company's offices in mainland China, where their English-language
> > skills are fair at best. The remainder of our source material is what
> > we here write IF we are lucky enough to have the machine here on our
> > premises for photos and inspection.
> >
> > My American manager is a nice guy (about age 60, and I'm seven years
> > older) but he is not a true tech writer. He is an ex-Marine who had
> >written the technical stuff for a heavy equipment dealer where he was
> >employed for some years, and very proud of it. And he certainly knows
> >his stuff from a technical side of things. Absolutely. Many times,
> >he'll forward a Word document for me to format (we use FrameMaker
> > 11.0) that he has written and I'll usually find little stuff to fix,
> >but then he'll quibble with me about it. I usually give in because he's
> the boss.
> > In today's document from him is the phrase "7 pin connector". My fix
> >was to simply add a hyphen to make it "7-pin connector". But he
> >objected and I VERY diplomatically told him that in our industry, it
> >is common to take mechanics and other factory workers with oodles of
> >line experience and throw them in front of a keyboard to write the
> >manuals, thus the rough grammar, etc. And blindly copying what
> >somebody else wrote means replicating their errors (if any). He agrees
> >but says that he has NEVER seen various things that I show him in any
> >other tech manuals by other companies in this industry.
> > So what is the official rule for the use of hyphenated modifiers. Like
> >I said, this is VERY minor but good writing is supposed to be correct
> >in punctuation as well as word usage, etc. And this isn't even a tech
> >writing rule, but a punctuation rule that should apply everywhere.
> >
> > So if anyone has a website (ESPECIALLY a heavy construction equipment
> > website) that shows correct usage, or a website that states the
> > correct punctuation rules, I'd be much obliged. Hopefully, I'll be
> > able to reference it for future "things."
> >
> > -- Ken in Atlanta
> > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> > Visit TechWhirl for the latest on content technology, content strategy
> > and content development | http://techwhirl.com
> >
> > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> >
> > You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as X2BVSHEW -at- southernco -dot- com -dot-
> >
> > To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> > techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> >
> >
> > Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
> > http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources
> > and info.
> >
> > Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our
> > online magazine at http://techwhirl.com
> >
> > Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our
> > public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
> > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> > Visit TechWhirl for the latest on content technology, content strategy
> > and content development | http://techwhirl.com
> >
> > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> >
> > You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com -dot-
> >
> > To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> > techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> >
> >
> > Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
> > http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources
> > and info.
> >
> > Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our
> > online magazine at http://techwhirl.com
> >
> > Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our
> > public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
> >
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Visit TechWhirl for the latest on content technology, content strategy and
> content development | http://techwhirl.com
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as Lynne -dot- Wright -at- kronos -dot- com -dot-
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
>
> Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
> http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and
> info.
>
> Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our online
> magazine at http://techwhirl.com
>
> Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our public
> email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Visit TechWhirl for the latest on content technology, content strategy and
> content development | http://techwhirl.com
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as poshedly -at- bellsouth -dot- net -dot-
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
>
> Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
> http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and
> info.
>
> Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our online
> magazine at http://techwhirl.com
>
> Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our public
> email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
>
>
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Visit TechWhirl for the latest on content technology, content strategy and
> content development | http://techwhirl.com
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as ccardimon -at- m-s-g -dot- com -dot-
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
>
> Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
> http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and
> info.
>
> Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our online
> magazine at http://techwhirl.com
>
> Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our public
> email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
>
> Information contained in this e-mail transmission is privileged and
> confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, do not
> read, distribute or reproduce this transmission (including any
> attachments). If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately
> notify the sender by telephone or email reply.
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Visit TechWhirl for the latest on content technology, content strategy and
> content development | http://techwhirl.com
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as kathleen -dot- eamd -at- gmail -dot- com -dot-
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
>
> Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
> http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and
> info.
>
> Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our online
> magazine at http://techwhirl.com
>
> Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our public
> email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
>



--
Kathleen MacDowell
kathleen -dot- eamd -at- gmail -dot- com
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Visit TechWhirl for the latest on content technology, content strategy and content development | http://techwhirl.com

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com


Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and info.

Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our online magazine at http://techwhirl.com

Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives


References:
punctuation et al. rules: From: Ken Poshedly
RE: punctuation et al. rules: From: Stuckey, Ginger
Re: punctuation et al. rules: From: Chris Morton
RE: punctuation et al. rules: From: Wright, Lynne
Re: punctuation et al. rules: From: Ken Poshedly
RE: punctuation et al. rules: From: Cardimon, Craig

Previous by Author: Re: showing text correlation - other than by color ?
Next by Author: What would you do?
Previous by Thread: RE: punctuation et al. rules
Next by Thread: Re: punctuation et al. rules


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads