Re: Use of definite article

["Gene Kim-Eng" <techwr -at- genek -dot- com>]

This is not a grammar issue.  It's a branding issue.
You and your managers need to consult whoever
is determining what your product branding and
trademarking requires in order to properly identify
and protect "CCU" as an alternative name for your
product and.  There is no rule of grammar or style
that can predict what the answer will be.

Gene Kim-Eng
.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ronald Schwarz" <RSchwarz -at- cosmocom -dot- com>
>I tried to look up in the Chicago Manual of Style and the Microsoft 
>Manual of Style ... the rules for using the definite and indefinite 
>article in conjunction with abbreviated product names. I did not find 
>anything helpful. We have a product called CosmoCall Universe, 
>abbreviated CCU. In the process of writing and revising an integration 
>manual for use of the CCU with another product, also abbreviated, 
>management made me delete "the" in front of the two abbreviations.
>
> Even though it seemed natural to me to refer to CosmoCall Universe 
> without a definite article, because it sounds like a collective name 
> for an architecture, when referring to a particular platform 
> implementation, I preferred using the definite article ("the CCU"); 
> and the same for the other product.
>
> Is there a rule for this situation? I cannot go according to my 
> management's practices because the manager does not even know when to 
> capitalize and the analyst who designs our products and helps him 
> directly has a foreigner's command of English. I would like to set 
> down the rules for them so we can have marketing collateral (what they 
> often write) that is pleasant to read as well as what I write (user 
> documentation).

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