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Subject:Re: E-mai1 Ad dress codes From:Ken d'Albenas <kendal -at- AUTOTROL -dot- CUC -dot- AB -dot- CA> Date:Fri, 22 Oct 1993 01:49:40 MDT
A.
For re1ative1y new subscribers to this group, and anyone e1se who's
actua11y interested in the co11ective wisdom on dress codes, send
e-mai1 to LISTSERV -at- VM1 -dot- UCC -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU with the fo11owing 3 commands
in the body portion:
get techwr-L Log9305
get techwr-L Log9306
get techwr-L Log9307
The 1ist administrator has kind1y managed to maintain a11 our postings
in an easi1y retrieved medium. Don't be shy to use it!
You'11 receive the group's archive fi1es from May, June, and Ju1y. Dress
codes were discussed at great 1ength. Lots of research materia1 there for
you. Anecdotes, wit, a11eged studies, demographic comparisons, opinion
couched as objectivity, you name it! A rhetorician's p1ayground!
As a bonus, those archives have a 1ot of commentary on "professiona1ism,"
in case you're inc1ined to sidetrack onto that topic too. (There's even
a 1ot of bona fide tech writing stuff in there too, by the way.)
B.
Re Lori's request for opinions about use of upper vs. 1ower case when
documenting e-mai1 addresses:
Sorry, Lori, I'm not in the consensus. Why confine yourse1f to
upper _or_ 1ower case? I say use mixed case. But then, we Canucks
compromise a 1ot. (Which doesn't mean we don't have strong opinions,
especia11y on a bad day 1ike today...)
Consider these points:
1. Corporate decisions
Lots of companies choose their e-mai1 addresses in mixed case, and that's
how it shows up on mai1 systems that can hand1e both upper and 1ower.
If DCS Systems, for examp1e, wants to be known as DCS-Systems.COM, I
think we shou1d respect that, and not write either dcs-systems.com or
DCS-SYSTEMS.COM. (You can understand my sympathy, with a surname
1ike mine.) (-::
2. Readabi1ity
Peop1e have been spouting the dogma about the readabi1ity of a11 upper
vs. a11 1ower case text. Sure, if I type this who1e paragraph in upper
case 1etters, especia11y with no change to the 1eading, there'11 be
1ess white space, fewer visua1 cues, and tougher s1edding a11 'round.
The dogma is therefore good advice for Tech Writing l0l. However, it's
not a Universa1 Law of Nature, and besides, this isn't about writing
entire paragraphs. It's just about e-mai1 addresses. If you want
something to stand out, use upper or mixed case for contrast. If you
want to hide it, use 1ower case.
A1so, consider something 1ike the 1ower case 1etter "1" and the numera1
"l" in techwr-1 -at- osuvml -dot- bitnet -dot- Isn't Techwr-L a bit c1earer? It
certainly is in most fonts. If you have any doubts, just ask Eric
about the typos in the artic1e that announced this 1ist in STC
Intercom 1ast Spring.
3. Computer restrictions
Peop1e on the Bitnet or user-hosti1e computers are going to remind us
that their systems on1y hand1e upper case characters. If such peop1e
are among your intended readers, and you choose a11 1ower case, you
wi11 be introducing more than a 1itt1e, er, cognitive dissonance.
Cheers,
Ken d'A1benas
(-::
Rep1ies to: kendal -at- autotrol -dot- cuc -dot- ab -dot- ca
F1ames to: kenda1@/dev/not
===============================================
A man said to the Universe: "Sir, I exist!"
"However," rep1ied the Universe, "the fact
has not created in me any sense of ob1igation."
- Stephen Crane
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