Capitalisation - How Do YOU Do It?

[B_ScaredLittleBoy]

Okay so on another forum someone has just had the cheek to try and tell me how a topic title should be written.

I have always used and will always use title capitalisation; capitalising every word. I do it for aesthetics but also to emphasise the actual title/topic itself.

I see a lot of other people use sentence capitalisation or some other form. But which do you use? Do you have a certain type that you prefer or ways of capitalising titles that annoy you?

Capitalization - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[B_JasonDawgxxx]

Do what makes you happy

 

[Viking_UK]

Title capitalisation is the "correct" way to do it, but this isn't formal prose, so do what you like and if anyone tells you to do otherwise, tell them to get a life.

 

[Tattooed Goddess]

I rarely capitalize "i"

Sometimes i dont even caps the first letter in the beginning of a sentence.

When doing a title, I Might Write It Like This

Who gives a fig?

Major spelling errors in a title is the only thing i can't stand.

 

[Captain Elephant]

Dang, e.e. cummings would have a field day with this one!

My dad was a publisher/editor of a small town newspaper for years and years. When I was younger I would go in and lend a hand pasting up galleys and every once in a blue moon he would let me type headlines on this big blue machine. You couldn't even see what you were typing until it came out on film.

According to the Associated Press Style Guide, which I think he used in place of a bible, headlines are all written in sentence capitals. Only the first word and proper nouns started in caps.

But I'll bet that his old AP style book didn't say a damn thing about forum threads.

So, if you want to be like a newspaper use sentence caps. If you want to be who you are use whatever you want and let the forum nazis have at you. It's really fun to bait them, you know.

 

[DC_DEEP]

I usually make titles as short as possible, and don't worry too much about them as long as they get the point across.

In the body of a post, though, I try to use all the Elements of Style for clarity and readability.

LPSG is not a doctoral dissertation, but using good grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization, make it less likely that a post will be misunderstood, or that the reader will skip most of it due to eye fatigue.

 

[B_ScaredLittleBoy]

But don't newspapers write headlines in caps!?

Anyway I shall capitalise titles as I always have.

And Bedhead: not capitalising an address means that the addressee is not viewed highly by the addresser. Or at least not viewed as highly as they would be with a capitalised address.

That might only apply to literature though; I am referring to the character of schoolteacher in Beloved (whose name is never capitalised).

I did try to look for information on this 'i' versus 'I' but couldn't find any. It would be interesting if someone could find something about it and what it says about the writer.

I did however find this:

"Personal Pronoun I relates strongly to the person's self-concept, self-esteem, etc."

And that's it...I would still like to read more on it though. Its interesting that someone's subconscious could be visible in their writing.

 

[HazelGod]

Crap...sorry, SLB, I voted for sentence cap after, ironically enough, only reading your thread title and not realizing that you were asking the question in the context of thread titles. :biggrin1:

I tend to agree with you that they should follow the title cap convention.

 

[Catchoftheday]

Other - all the above and more, depends what I feel like, don't s'pose anyones gonna read it anyway

 

[B_ScaredLittleBoy]

Other - all the above and more, depends what I feel like, don't s'pose anyones gonna read it anyway

Did someone say something? :tongue:

 

[Phil Ayesho]

As a mavis beacon dropout... I never got to the part where you master capitalization...

I try... but I often get two letters capitalized... or accidentally hit the caps key and get a whole string capitalized...

So... its kinda random and non-specific...

and as far as I am concerned... if it isn't a site dedicated to grammar and proper english punctuation... tell them to take a hike to hitlerland with all the other idiotic nazi's

 

[Principessa]

I usually make titles as short as possible, and don't worry too much about them as long as they get the point across.

In the body of a post, though, I try to use all the Elements of Style for clarity and readability.

LPSG is not a doctoral dissertation, but using good grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization, make it less likely that a post will be misunderstood, or that the reader will skip most of it due to eye fatigue.

Exactly, I agree.

But don't newspapers write headlines in caps!? Anyway I shall capitalise titles as I always have.

And Bedhead: not capitalising an address means that the addressee is not viewed highly by the addresser. Or at least not viewed as highly as they would be with a capitalised address.

I agree, I'm not sure if that's in Strunk & White but I see no logical reason to not capitalize the addressee.

That might only apply to literature though; I am referring to the character of schoolteacher in Beloved (whose name is never capitalised).

OMG! :yikes: You read that whole book! It's so thick. The movie was interminably long, and I hated it. :yuck:

I did try to look for information on this 'i' versus 'I' but couldn't find any. It would be interesting if someone could find something about it and what it says about the writer.

In most other languages 'I' is not capitalized. In English 'I' is always to be capitalized. This is not my rule it's proper grammar. When I see someone I know to be American or English not capitalizing I, but using proper capitalization elsewhere I assume they have poor self-esteem. If nothing is capitalized I assume they are being lazy.

It is usually obvious if a person has English as a 2nd language by their verb placement and general style of writing. I usually give these people a pass.

 

[Catchoftheday]

I would like to point out that I didn't vote for other because it's the pink one.