[FM Discuss] Style Guide?

[Mark Hancock]

Hi Guys,

Sorry this is my first posting to the list on the subject, but what the
hell, i thought I'd chime in. When I first started as a technical author, I
really couldn't get to grips with the company style guide. I broke it loads
of times. Then I began to see how it helped to make everything look more
professional by giving it a clearer and more consistent look. Now every time
I go to work somewhere I'm like a junkie to get the style guide sorted! But
I'm a word nerd.

As for the voice of writers being lost. An example might be the New Yorker
magazine (there are many more but it's sitting next to my mac). They use a
style guide but the magazine contains some of the richest and most singular
voices in contemporary fiction and non-fiction around. Used well, a style
guide doesn't suppress 'voice' but guides it to quality.

Anyway, now I've spoken up, I'd better offer to get involved in helping
write it. I'm also about to 'take some time out' from professional work life
(the bastards have finished my contract).

best.

Mark




2009/12/4 Tomi Toivio <tomi at flossmanuals.net>

> 2009/12/4 William Abernathy <william at inch.com>
>
>
>> It seems to me that in the admittedly small sample of seven people who've
>> opined on this issue so far, we're divided into two camps: those who use
>> style guides and consider them a valuable resource, and those who do not use
>> them, and regard them as instruments of oppression.
>
>
> This is getting too polarized, just like internet discussions tend to
> become. It seems more everybody agrees that a style guide would be nice. If
> everybody thinks that it shouldn't be enforced as policy, then there
> actually seems to be no disagreement?
>
> I have been thinking that a FLOSS Manuals style guide would be nice and
> would find it useful. I just think that it should not be compulsory for
> writers to use a style guide. I believe enforcing the use of a style guide
> would be an extra hurdle for many contributors, since not everyone would,
> could, or should be a professional technical writer.
>
> In this sense I agree with Adam: A style guide would be great but it should
> not be compulsory unless the writer wants to use it.
>
> --
> Best Regards
> Tomi Toivio
> Open Source Coordinator
> http://fi.flossmanuals.net/
> tomi at flossmanuals.net
> +358445488856
>
>
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>
>
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