Responses to web style guide question

[William Rost <rost -at- GATE -dot- SUNQUEST -dot- COM>]

I posted the following mail to the techwr-l and winhlp-l. Additionally,
Becca Price cross-posted it to the copyediting-l. (Thanks, Becca!):

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Our writing group has been following the "Microsoft Manual of Style for
Technical Publications" for writing Help files and documentation
for Windows-based applications. I'm searching for a similar style
manual or guide that addresses the nuances of documenting
web-based applications.

Anyone know of such a manual? Is anyone out there working on such a
manual?

If you have information, please either e-mail the information to me or
post it. I'll compile all responses and post them to the list.
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Here are the results from 11 replies:

Respondents who:
-Know of a style guide for documenting web-based applications:  0
-Suggested guides or web sites for online writing
   or web-design styles: 7
-Asked for info about the Microsoft style guide: 2
   (Microsoft Manual of Style, ISBN 1-55615-939-0)
-Don't have suggestions, but are also looking: 2

Christine Jesensky <Xine -at- MicroScript -dot- com> sent the following list,
which has plenty of good references.

"What is good hypertext writing?" by Jutta Degener
   http://kbs.cs.tu-berlin.de/~jutta/ht/writing-html.html

"Methods of Eliminating Wordiness: A Checklist"
(Purdue University On-Line Writing Lab)
   http://owl.english.purdue.edu/Files/127.html

"Writing With Computers" (Purdue University On-Line Writing Lab)
   http://owl.english.purdue.edu/Files/124.html

"Style Guide for Online Hypertext"
   http://www.w3.org/Provider/Style/Structure.html
   http://www.w3.org/Provider/Style/WithinDocument.html

Site Design from the Yale C/AIM Web Style Guide
   http://info.med.yale.edu/caim/manual/sites/site_design.html

Some good writing tips mixed among the site design tips
   http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/gdr11/style-guide.html

Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques
et Commerciales Web Writing Guide
   http://www.aiesec.org/members/library/style-guide/writing.html

Questions for Information Providers
   http://nic.nasa.gov/nic/web-questions.html

"Technical Writing for Online Use" (paper for South Pacific User
Support Conference 95), Jason Copeland
   http://www.massey.ac.nz/~spusc/paper/jason.html

"The Poetics of Business Writing" (an interesting piece comparing
writing business stuff to writing poems!)
   http://www.go.ednet.ns.ca/~matt.cote/wordings/BusPoet2.html

Thank you all for your suggestions,
Salut/Bill Rost

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