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STC Rocky Mountain Chapter

Style GuideStyles for Web Development and Correspondence

Deb LockwoodDraft: 03/07/09

2 Draft 5/25/2023

1STC RMC Style Guide

General Writing GuidelinesThe STC Rocky Mountain Chapter (RMC) maintains this style guide for use when creating written communication, including its Web site and official correspondence.

At the most basic level, when writing for the STC RMC you should keep the following best practices in mind:

Use active voice, where possible, rather than passive voice.

Write succinctly.

Keep your readers in mind and write to them.

Write professionally; do not be overly creative or familiar in your writing style.

Use headings to guide the reader through the material.

Proof your work. If you are unsure of correct usage, ask for an editor’s help.

Avoid the use of contractions.

When writing for the Web site, make sure that you organize your content well so that it is easy for your users to search and navigate. If you have questions or need help, please ask someone on the Web site team.

Style Guide ResourcesThe STC RMC uses the following guides as its primary style sources:

Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications, Third Edition = Use this guide as the primary style source. (The rules in this guide take precedence over the Chicago Manual of Style.) This guide excels at computer-based terminology.

Chicago Manual of Style Online (or the 15th Edition in print) = Use this guide as a secondary style source. This guide excels at English-language rules (e.g., punctuation, grammar).

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2Abbreviations, Acronyms, and

Capitalization

AbbreviationsCommon abbreviations, such as St. for Street and Mr. for Mister, are fine to use. However, some abbreviations obscure clarity. Therefore, remember that the audience for our chapter communications is far reaching and represents readers from different cultures, countries, and educational background. If there is a potential for the reader not to understand the abbreviation, spell the words out.

AcronymsWhen writing for the STC RMC Web site, spell out a term on first mention (once per Web page) followed by the acronym in parenthesis. For example, on first mention, use STC Rocky Mountain Chapter (RMC) and on subsequent mentions, use STC RMC.

The following table contains a list of common acronyms and the rules for handling them in written text.

Acronym Rule

STC RMC This is the only appropriate acronym for the Society for Technical Communication Rocky Mountain Chapter. Do not use STC/RMC, STC-RMC, STCRMC, or just RMC.

If it is likely that the reader will not know what the acronym STC stands for, use the Society for Technical Communication (STC) Rocky Mountain Chapter (RMC) on first mention.

If the reader will likely know what the acronym STC stands for, then use STC Rocky Mountain Chapter (RMC) on first mention.

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Capitalization and Combined WordsThe following table contains a list of the rules for handling combined words. The words in this table are shown in alphabetical order. (See the Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications, Third Edition, for a full list of rules.)

Word Rule Description

Drop-down Two words, lower case, hyphenate when used as a modifier (e.g., drop-down list, drop-down arrow).

E-mail Always hyphenate. Do not use as a verb; use send instead.

Only capitalize E at the beginning of a sentence or in a table if it is the first word in a column entry.

Internet, intranet, extranet

Always capitalize Internet.

Do not capitalize intranet or extranet.

Podcast One word, lower case.

URL Always capitalize.

Do not spell out uniform resource locator.

Web Always capitalize Web, even if you are referring to an intranet Web.

It is all right to use Web alone to refer to the Word Wide Web, as long as the context is clear. For inexperienced computer users, use World Wide Web on first mention, and then shorten to Web.

When used as a modifier, capitalize the W and use two words, with the following exceptions used throughout the industry:

web-centric

webcam

webcast

webmaster

webzine

Web address

Two words, Web is capitalized, address is not.

Web browser

Two words, Web is capitalized, browser is not.

Webcast One word, lower case.

Words beginning with the prefix web- are common nouns and appear in lowercase. Normal rules of capitalization apply in title and at the beginning of a sentence.

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Word Rule Description

Webinar One word, lower case. (See Webcast for full explanation.)

Web page Two words, Web is capitalized, page is not.

Web site Two words, Web is capitalized, site is not.

World Wide Web

Always capitalize.

If used repeatedly in a section of content, spell out on first mention and abbreviate as WWW on subsequent mentions.

Capitalization Style RulesThe following table contains a list of the rules for capitalizing various items in the STC RMC’s communication.

Word Rule

Headings Use title capitalization rules rather than sentence capitalization rules.

Example: Saving to a Folder

Capitalize all nouns, verbs (including is and other forms of be), adverbs (including then and when), adjectives (including this and that), and pronouns (including its).

Capitalize the first and last words, regardless of their parts of speech.

Example: The Text to Look For

Capitalize prepositions that are part of a verb phrase.

Example: Backing Up Your Disk

Do not capitalize articles (a, an, the) unless the article is the first word in the title.

Do not capitalize coordinate conjunctions (and, but, for, nor, or) unless the conjunction is the first word in the title.

Do not capitalize prepositions of four or fewer letters unless the preposition is the first word in the title.

Do not capitalize to in an infinitive phrase (How to Format Your Hard Disk) unless the phrase is the first word in the title.

Capitalize the second word in compound words if it is a noun or proper adjective, it is an “e-word,” or the words have equal weight (E-Commerce, Cross-Reference). Do not capitalize the second word if it is another part of speech or a participle that modifies the first word (Add-in, How-to, Take-off).

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Word Rule

Tables Capitalize only the first word of each column heading, the first word of each column entry, and proper nouns.

It is all right to use lowercase for the first word in column entries if capitalization might cause confusion. For example, you might have this occur if a column of keywords must be lowercase.

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3Punctuation, Numbering, Currency,

and Lists

PunctuationNormal punctuation rules apply to STC RMC communcation. In some cases, however, multiple usages are correct. The following table contains a list of the rules that apply to the STC RMC.

Punctuation Rule

Colons Use colons sparingly.

Use a colon at the end of a sentence or phrase that introduces a list.

Example: The basic configuration for your computer must include:

o A hard disk with 24 megabytes of free disk space

o A monitor supported by Microsoft Windows

Commas Use serial commas.

Example: We can select from the Classic, Student, and Retired membership options.

Use commas with elements in titles, dates, places, and addresses.

Example: Tom Johnson, Jr., is here.

Example: May 21, 2009, is the project start date.

Example: Broomfield, Colorado, is the meeting location.

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Punctuation Rule

Dashes There are two types of dashes: em dash (—) and en dash (–).

Use an em dash to set off sentence elements. Do not use spacing on either side of the dash.

Example: The information in your spreadsheet—numbers, formulas, and text—is stored in cells.

The HTML code for em dash is &#151.

Use an en dash to connect elements, such as with a range of numbers.

Example: Pages 95–110

The HTML code for en dash is &#150.

Hyphen Use a hyphen for compound words or modifiers.

Example: Use a field-description table to show the definition of elements in a graphical user interface (GUI).

Parentheses If a complete sentence, place periods inside of a parenthetical statement.

Example: We voted on several issues. (These topics included seminar topics, timing of elections, and gifts for presenters.)

If not a complete sentence, place periods outside of a parenthetical statement.

Example: We voted on several issues (e.g., seminar topics, timing of elections, gifts for presenters).

Periods Use only one space between a period and the following sentence.

In a simple vertical list of bulleted items, if each bulleted entry is a complete sentence in itself, end all bulleted entries with a period.

In a simple vertical list of bulleted items, if each bulleted entry is a sentence fragment, do not use ending periods.

Quotation marks

Include closing punctuation inside of quotation marks.

Example: One Internet dictionary calls an electronic magazine a “hyperzine.”

Semicolons Use a semicolon to link elements in a series when those elements contain commas.

Example: The members were from three geographical communities: San Diego, California; Lone Tree, Colorado; and Cheyenne, Wyoming.

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Punctuation Rule

Slash marks Use a slash mark to separate parts of an Internet address and use a double slash after the protocol name.

Example: http://mslibrary/catalog/collect.htm

Use a backslash with server, folder, and file names.

Example: \\mslibrary\catalog\collect.doc

Do not use constructions containing a slash mark to indicate a choice, such as either/or and he/she.

Do not use a slash mark as a substitute for or.

NumbersUse the following rules when your text includes numbers.

Word Rule

Dates Because dates are expressed differently based on the readers’ country of origin, express dates by spelling out the month.

Example: May 10, 2009 (rather than 05/10/09)

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Word Rule

Spelling numbers

Spell out numbers used as the first word of a sentence.

Example: Twelve officers voted to approve the measure.

Spell out numbers less than 10 (except for numbers used with a unit of measurement).

Example: The five voting officers are president, vice-president, past president, treasurer, and secretary.

Use numerals for 10 or more.

Example: More than 30 members attended our October meeting.

Use numerals for any number with a unit of measurement, even if the number is less than 10.

Example: The diskette is 9 centimeters wide.

If one number in a sentence is 10 or more, make all the numbers in the sentence numerals.

Example: Of the technical communicators that attended the session, 15 use Word, 20 use FrameMaker, and 5 use Flare.

Always spell out units of measurement.

Example: The tape is 47 inches long.

If two numbers in a sentence are consecutive, spell out one and use a numeral for the other.

Example: Perform step 2 two times.

Telephone numbers

For U.S. telephone numbers, use parentheses, not a hyphen, to separate the area code from the seven-digit phone number.

Example: (303) 555-1212

Time Express time as an hour, colon, and minutes. Always designate whether the time is A.M. or P.M.

Example: The meeting will begin at 6:00 P.M.

Be sensitive to potential time zone differences. For example, if you are posting a Webinar notice to which STC members in other states may dial in, state the time zone. Treat time zones as proper nouns. (This is the Microsoft rule and contradicts the Chicago Manual of Style.) Avoid mentioning standard or daylight time.

Example: The presentation will start at 7:00 P.M., Mountain Time.

CurrencyUse the following rules when your text includes references to currency.

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Word Rule

Whole dollar amounts

When using whole dollar amounts in text, drop the period and the two zeros.

Example: The meeting cost is $20 for STC members.

ListsUse the following rules for lists.

Topic Rule

Parallel When writing bullet point lists, keep the bullet point parallel.

Example: The following chapter officers are elected annually:

a. President

b. Vice President

c. Secretary

d. Treasurer

Introductions Introduce lists with an independent clause, where possible. When it is an independent clause, use a colon at the end of that clause.

Example: Valid values are as follows: 1, 2, and 3.

Numbering Use a period without parentheses after numerals or letters used to enumerate items in a vertical list.

Example:

1. Strigiformes

2. Caprimulgiformes

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Topic Rule

Periods Omit periods after items in a vertical list unless one or more of the items are complete sentences. If the vertical list completes a sentence begun in an introductory element, the final period is also omitted unless the items in the list are separated by commas or semicolons.

Example 1:

The following metals were excluded from the regulation:

Molybdenum

Mercury

Manganese

Magnesium

Example 2:

After careful investigation the committee was convinced that the following was true:

1. The organization’s lawyer, Watson, had consulted no one before making the decision;

2. The chair, Fitcheu-Braun, had never spoken to Watson;

3. Fitcheu-Braun was as surprised as anyone by what happened.

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4Bold, Italic, Underline

BoldUse bold sparingly and only for emphasis.

ItalicUse italic in the following situations:

Use italics to cite document titles in text.

o Example: Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications, Third Edition.

Use italics to designate words that are defined in running text. Do not italicize those same words in other instances in running text.

o Example: A blog is a web log.

Place word-as-word usage and letter-as-letter usage in italics.

o Example: Always use the word page when adding page numbers to cross-references.

UnderlineOn the STC RMC Web site, use underlines only for URLs. This is not a manual underline, but rather it is a link written in HTML code.

A sample of this code follows: <A HREF=".../site/index.html">SITE DESIGN</A>

Do not use underlines in any other circumstance, such as for emphasis.

Avoid underlining in other written communication.

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5Writing for the Web

Writing Rules for the Chapter’s Web SiteWhen writing for the chapter’s Web site, keep the following rules in mind.

Item Rule

People’s names

Avoid using people’s names. Instead, try to use the person’s title.

Capitalize the title name.

Example: Address your letter to the STC RMC President.

E-mail addresses

The chapter maintains several alias e-mail addresses for use by the officers and committee managers. When including an e-mail address on the Web site, use an alias address rather than a person’s regular e-mail address.

Example: Address your e-mail message to the STC RMC President at president@stcrmc.org.

TypographyThe following is a list of the styles used on the STC RMC Web site. This information can also be found in greater detail in the STC RMC Style Sheet.

Style Characteristics Details

h1 Verdana 18 point bold

Dark blue (Hex 000080)

Space before = 0

Space after = 3 points

h2 Verdana 16 point bold

Dark blue (Hex 000080)

Space before = 0

Space after = 3 points

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Style Characteristics Details

h3 Verdana 14 point bold

Dark blue (Hex 000080)

Space before = 0

Space after = 3 points

h4 Verdana 12 point bold

Dark blue (Hex 000080)

Space before = 0

Space after = 3 points

p Georgia 12 point

Black (Hex 000000)

Paragraph = Use for all text that is not a heading

Space before = 0

Space after = 3 points

UL Georgia 12 point

Black (Hex 000000)

Space before = 0

Space after = 6 points

OL Georgia 12 point

Black (Hex 000000)

Space before = 0

Space after = 6 points

Links There are three link types: normal, visited, and hover.

Normal = Georgia 12 point, blue (Hex 0000FF)

Visited = Georgia 12 point, violet (Hex CC00CC)

Hover = Georgia 12 point, red (Hex FF0000)

Background White

Justification Left Left justify all text.

For general typography information, see the following sample: http://www.upenn.edu/webguide/style_guide/typography.html.

Elements on a Web PageThe following graphic identifies the various elements on a Web page. These descriptions were taken from the Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications, Third Edition.

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Persistent elements are those items that appear on every page of the Web site. For example, this footer contains global navigation, contact details, copyright, and privacy links.

NOTE TO REVIEWERS: When the STC RMC Web site is up, we need to switch the previous graphic to a screen shot of our new environment.

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Close button

Links bar

Web page

Navigation button

Link

Banner

Menu bar

Tool bar

Persistent elements

Title bar Maximize button

Main content area

Footer (usually

contains persistent elements)

Global navigation

Address bar

STC RMC Style Guide

6Web Site Development

Dreamweaver and ContributeThe STC RMC uses Adobe Dreamweaver and Adobe Contribute as its Web site development tools of choice.

Contribute allows users to modify existing Web pages.

Dreamweaver does everything that Contribute does plus allows users to add new pages and make other revisions to the pages and the Web site structure.

The STC RMC Web site uses Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). CSS specifies the possible style sheets or statements that may determine how a given element is presented in a Web page.

The chapter’s Web site pages were created using two templates; one for the main (or index) page and one for the content pages.

LicensesIn 2008, the STC RMC purchased six licenses of Dreamweaver and seven of Contribute from Jacob Giffin at Softmart (Jacob.giffin@SOFTMART.com) at a discounted, non-profit organization price.

Deb Lockwood got this contact information through the STC’s program with Tech Soup http://www.techsoup.org/stock/.

Using Style SheetsThe chapter has a well-defined style sheet that must be referenced in all new content pages. Use the standards defined in this style sheet to maintain conformity throughout the site. Also, use basic tags to avoid complex formatting. For example, use definition lists and unordered lists wherever appropriate and avoid table formatting of content wherever possible.

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Header TagsDefine titles in the Web site with the appropriate header tag, e.g., H1, H2, H3, etc. All six header tags are defined in the style sheet and should be used appropriately. Use the <h1> tag as the page title at the top of the page. Use the <h2> tag for the next heading, <h3> for the next, and so on.

Page Titles Should Match Link TerminologyPage titles should be identical to the link terminology. For example, if the link says, “Honors and Awards,” the page title should be Honors and Awards.

Web GraphicsImages can delay the downloading of a Web page. If an image or graphic takes too long to download, users may become frustrated and leave the site. Ensure that all images for use on the Web are 72ppi.

QUESTIONS FOR REVIEWERS: How much detail do we need here? Should we address different graphic file formats? Different compressions? Should we define whether we use animation(s)? We need someone with graphic expertise to review these.

Graphics have a role on the Web, but it should be a supporting role. Graphics should enhance the presentation of content, and support the navigation through that content.

Advantages of GIF filesFollowing is a list of advantages of the GIF file format.

GIF is the most widely supported graphics format on the Web GIFs of diagrammatic images look better than JPEGs

Advantages of JPEG imagesFollowing is a list of advantages of the JPEG file format.

Huge compression ratios mean faster download speeds JPEG produces excellent results for most photographs and complex images JPEG supports full-color (24-bit, "true color") images GIF supports transparency and interlacing

Persistent Graphic ElementsThe following graphics are used on the Web site and we should not change the size of the images or distort them in any way.

Item Image Graphic Name

The Google search button is used in the persistent elements area of the banner.

Universal toolbar graphic google_univ.gif

The RSS feed graphic … RSS Feed

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NOTE TO TEAM: Need info and graphic here.

STC and STC RMC LogosThe STC logo should link to the national STC Web site. Downloadable variations of the STC logo and specific logo design recommendations are available on the STC Web site at http://www.stc.org/about/new-logo-index.asp.

The STC RMC logo should comply with the following guidelines:

Include an ALT tag that says Home

Be clickable

Be included on every page

Turn the background to white when the person is on the Home page

STC RMC TitleThe text Society for Technical Communication in the title should be in an approved font color and type.

NOTE TO TEAM: We need to put the detail here; what is the approved font and color?

Validating your CodeThe W3C has a markup validation service you can use to check the markup of Web documents. It is currently located at http://validator.w3.org/. When working on a Web page, take a few minutes to use this or, at a minimum, clear your cache, refresh your page, and verify that your page works correctly.

Character CodesASCII stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. It is the standard format used for text files within computers and online. As computers can only understand numbers, the ASCII code is the numerical representation of alphabetic and special characters, such as the copyright © symbol. These are also known as character codes.

In order to display special characters or symbols within your HTML pages, you must use a special character code. You can find a well organized list of character codes at the Designers Toolbox Web site, which is located at http://www.designerstoolbox.com/designresources/html/.

Best Practices on the WebTo create a satisfying user experience, employ best practices when creating all official STC RMC Web page. Following are a few guidelines that can help you to create accurate, usable pages.

Divide your content into clearly defined sections. Ensure that all images include an “ALT” tag and height and width information. Use the Cascading Style Sheet to create the layout and style of your pages. Do not use the font tag to define fonts. (These are defined in the STC RMC Style Sheet.)

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Create links using text that makes sense when read out of context. For example, avoid “click here.” Always check your work using a code validation application such as the W3C Markup Validation Service. Create pages using HTML.

Additional tips in the Google Webmaster Guidelines will help Google find, index, and rank your pages.

QUESTION FOR REVIEWERS: Do we want to reference other search engines here?

File Naming ConventionsWe have used the following file naming conventions for Web page names and file names. (File names are for those files that are to be downloaded, such as PDF files.)

Begin the page name with the abbreviated name of the main topic for that page, lowercase, and begin the second word with a capital letter.

o Example: aboutHistory.htm

Do not use hyphens except for showing a range of dates.

o Example: aboutYearEnd2005-2006.htm

Do not leave spaces in a page or file name. Spaces cause “%20” characters to appear.

Do not use an underscore character because they are difficult to see in a browser’s Address bar.

File StructuresThe folder structure uses the following conventions:

Every major navigation category is a folder

Each navigation sub-category is a sub-folder under the major category

We created secured folders for the following uses:

STC RMC members only, which contains the job postings

STC RMC council only, which contains meetings notes and shared resources

Web Page DatesWe include last updated dates on the bottom of all Web pages. Set Dreamweaver and Contribute up to automatically change this date when you modify and save a page.

NOTE TO TEAM: And how do we do this in Dreamweaver and Contribute?

We do not include today’s date on any of our pages.

Newsletter BlogThe team decided to move the chapter’s newsletter to a blog format in 2008. We used Dotster’s version of WordPress to accomplish this.

Permissions were set up to ??

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NOTE TO TEAM: Need information here.

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