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List:       kde-look
Subject:    Re: RFC: StyleGuide for Labels? (fwd)
From:       "Steven D'Aprano" <dippy () mikka ! net ! au>
Date:       2000-07-03 16:28:24
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Peter Putzer wrote:
> 
> On Mon, 3 Jul 2000, Magnus Ihse wrote:
> 
> > On Sun, 2 Jul 2000, Peter Putzer wrote:
> >
> > > This is a label for a lineedit: [            ]
> > > vs.
> > > This is a Label For a Lineedit: [            ]
> > >                 ^ not quite sure... I think that should be lower case
> > >                   *goes looking for his dictionary*
> >
> > That last comment is an excellent argument why this style should
> > _not_ be used: not many people know which words not to capitalize.
> 
> *g* it should be: "This Is a Label for a Lineedit"

I've Been Following the Argument About Labels, and I've Found it Very
Interesting. Especially That Even Commercial Software Companies Don't
Always Follow a Consistant Style in their Products. That Just Goes to
Show that a Large Budget Doesn't Always Lead to a Professional
Product.

But the Rules Are Quite Complex. Most Non-Linguists Don't Have a Clue
Which Words are Prepositions, Indefinite Articles and the Like. Verbs
and Nouns are About as Complex as Most of Us Understand. If I've
Understood Peter's Quotation From the Chicago Style Manual Correctly,
Then Peter Himself Has Got it Wrong: the Word "Is" Should Not be
Capitalised. But Maybe I Haven't Understood it Correctly.

But Does it Really Matter What the Chicago Style Manual Says? We are
Working in a New Medium Here, and While it Pays Us to Notice What the
CSM Says, it Should be to Gain Understanding, Not to Blindly Follow
the Rules. Well, Not Rules Exactly, More Like Suggestions.

It May be Relevent, or Perhaps Not, That Following Style A Will be
Grammatically Incorrect in German, Where All Nouns are Capitalised and
Verbs Are Not Unless They are the First Word in the Sentence.
Actually, Style A Breaks Even the Grammatical Rules of English. 



-- 
Steven D'Aprano

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