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Subject:Re: Acronyms and Front Matter Question From:Daniel Barnett <Daniel -dot- Barnett -at- WEST -dot- SUN -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 8 Sep 1998 16:21:57 -0700
They are treated the same way as abbreviations.
Pet peeve watch:
Acronyms: Sun = Stanford University Network
MAE = Macintosh Applications Environment
These always form _readily_ pronounceable words.
Abbreviations: HTML = HyperText Markup Language
SGML = Structured Generalized Markup Language
These never form readily pronounceable words.
Both are written out only when they are not recognizeable
to the vast majority of your readership. For instance,
not too many people spell out scuba, but it's an acronym
(self-contained underwater breathing apparatus).
First, occurance is always the rule for spelling them out,
although you should spell them out in headings (e.g.,
The HyperText Markup Language), but do not put its
abbreviated form in parenthesis in the heading. Use the
first line of the following paragraph.
HyperText Markup Language (HTML) = no go for heading
If the acronym or abbreviation appears throughout the
doc/book, determine when (usually at the first
occurance in a chapter)
