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Subject:Re: Slashes in abbreviations From:Jenn Wilson <jenn -at- mylar -dot- outflux -dot- net> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Fri, 4 Nov 2005 11:33:25 -0800 (PST)
Many thanks to all who responded!
Based on results here and from other folks I've asked, it does appear that
slashes are widely accepted for those accounting terms, whether or not
they're stylistically appropriate per our standard. I'll probably go with
keeping them for A/R, A/P, and G/L, but not for terms like "sales orders."
As for "getting with the program" and having "trite" conversations with my
company president, I should probably have offered more context. We're a
small, not-quite-conventional company. The president was our lead
software architect for many years before he assumed his current position
(and, for better or worse, still is). This sparring match we're involved
in is a friendly and productive one.
I'm in charge of style and writing standards (among other things) for our
growing company, and as I put much-needed structure into place, I'm
encouraged to question things I think are incorrect. This particular item
is part of my goal to clean up our interfaces and make them more
consistent. (At present, slash usage for such terms is at about
half-and-half in our screens, which drives me batty.)
My intent here was to request casual input from others who might have seen
one convention or the other. But hey, I do appreciate the extra advice.
In a more typical writing environment, it would certainly apply.
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