SUMMARY: Zip a proper noun?

[Miark <miark -at- MIJENIX -dot- COM>]

I've chosen to stick with "Zip". Details follow.

Someone suggested not using Zip as a noun at all, but it is a file type unto
itself--it deserves a name just as much as any other file type. More
importantly, the name is already being used by writers--all of them, as far
as I can see--and users alike. So I'm going to continue to use it as a noun.
Here are the reasons why I chose the form "Zip".

1) A number of people around here have told me that they think that the all
caps version is ugly.

2) I think writing nonacronyms in all caps _could_ be a) outside what
readers expect, and could therefore detract from its readability, even if it
is minimally, or
b) akin to screaming, which is probably e-mail etiquette spilling over into
my tech writing.

3) I looked through the guides of six Zip utility companies. Here's a tally
of how they handled the word:

    "ZIP"     3
    ".ZIP"    1
    "Zip"      2

"ZIP" seems to be used by more tech writers, but "Zip" is found in more
manuals as the two companies that use "Zip" are the two companies that are,
together, dominating the retail and shareware markets (+90% market share).
So most Zip users are used to seeing it written as "Zip".

4) Mine is one of the two dominating companies I mentioned in 1), so I think
I have a rare opportunity here to help set/maintain the standard instead of
figuring out which one to follow.

Thanks for all the input.

Mike


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