Properly capitalization in the title box really isn't that hard. In most browsers, if you just start typing the new title, it will fill in the most recent one, then you backspace over the number and retype that and the title is correct. But there have been a lot of misspelled, misspaced and miscapitalized titles lately. They look bad on the story and they look bad on the site. Sometimes titles are in ALL CAPS and if they are more than one short word long, I feel that should be fixed, too.
How should I deal with this:
1) Send and email/PM to the author that they should fix the title? They should be able to see that it needs fixing so having to send a message leaves me in a quandary, it really feels like I'm insulting the author to tell them to fix their title.
2) Fix it myself? Now, that's annoying. It's wasted time since it could have been done by the author to begin with or fixed by the author once it appeared on the front page in the obvious problem configuration. I do a lot of this with the HTML inside the story since I know that not everybody understands webcode but nearly everyone understands title capitalization.
3) Remove the story from the front page? Seems extreme but it surely is the least work for me. Not unpub the story but leave front page space for stories that do not have to be repaired in such a simple if annoying way.
What does everyone else thing?
Hugs,
Erin
Comments
Of the Options You Presented
I think number 1 is the best alternative. I appreciated your gentle reminder a few weeks ago when I type Addition rather than Edition. What is really strange is that until recently, the titles were not dropping down, showing the previous entries. It started doing it on other sites, too. I go to this site through internet explorer, because I don't have to keep re-signing in like I do on AOL. The sites I go to on AOL are suddenly automatically giving me choices (ones that I used before) when I type in email addresses in areas other than messages, something that AOL never did for me in the past, except for addressing emails. Portia
Portia
My preference would be for
My preference would be for Option 1. I think people would appreciate being reminded if they have made a mistake, particularly if they are infrequent or new writers. Perhaps you could add a line of text below the title naming box just to remind people when they submit a story? (If that is possible).
I think Option 2 would be unfair to you and Option 3 sounds a little unfair to the author if its an honest mistake. If it was a persistent offender who ignored a reminder PM then maybe Option 3 would be more appropriate in that case.
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
Well, my good woman...
...I agree with Portia... Option number one is simply a capital idea!
Dio vi benedica tutti
Con grande amore e di affetto
Andrea Lena
Love, Andrea Lena
Door number one
Three votes for number one, which is actually the most work for me. Why am I not surprised? :)
How about number 4? People just stop having this particular problem so often.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Delegate?
Maybe somebody who's here every day would volunteer to be your Capitalizer General.
It would be an appointed office with very limited responsibilities and powers.
Someone with a decent level of skills (including an understanding of regional variances
in words like offense/offence) who would either PM the author like in option #1,
or if you trusted them with whatever master key lets someone into a story
to go in and not do anything but capitalize and correct the spelling,
then PM the person and explain what they'd done and allow the
author to appeal, if they felt aRtIsTiC cOnSiDeRaTiOnS
justified their break from standard capitalization.
(like my one story title that's all in small case)
and if it's not complied with in a reasonable
amount of time they'd do the third option.
If no one else steps forward I could do it for a trial month.
There's not much else I can do to help this site, I'd be honored.
(Five minutes into her new position, Laika goes power mad:
"ALL RIGHT YOU MISCAPITALIZING DIRTBAGS, THE PARTY'S OVER!")
~~hugs, Laika
Well shit, I guess it really CAN happen here..,
.
Thanks!
I'll take you up on that. :)
Here's the rules:
Capitalization should be consistent, the same way for every chapter. Standalone stories can be capitalized any which way, except not all caps unless the title is one word, not more than 8 letters or two short words, not more than three or four each, total not more than seven. The first chapter of a series sets the style for the whole series.
So titles like:
all lower case
or
In The Style Of Headlines
or
In the Style of Book Titles
or
CamelCase
are all legal.
Just be consistent and repeat the title followed by the chapter number, with or without an identifier like Part or Ch. or whatever. Punctuation and spacing in titles should also be consistent in a series.
Hugs and thanks,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Capitalizers General?
Just, please, never give Leika an assistant. In general I find such phrases hard to deal with in the plural. Laikas General? General Laikas?
Title
Laika can be Hitchfinder General. Perhaps extend her remit to fonts as well. "There's a new serif in town"
Laika Assistant? How about...
...Laikey? Laikadaisical? Laikrymose?
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
In Answer to Your First Question
Nice of you to ask, but deal with it as you see fit. You've done simply marvelous things over the years following your instincts. Keep the faith!
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
My opinion on the matter
Is of several venues pursued at once.
Basically, it's a mix of Option One (send a PM), Laika's Option (delegate sending a PM or give her ability to change titles), and of a Cut and Paste Option (this one is mine).
The last comes as a request and a suggestion to authors - if you are posting a multiple part story, please take a minute or three to create an immaculate title for the first chapter, Copy it to a .txt file on your computer, and Paste it from there whenever you post another chapter.
Similarily, a suggestion is if you do send a PM to the authors, simply create a general letter-request that has placeholder for the title of the chapter, a link to title page of series, and a request to set the title right...
And, yeah, I do think repeat offenders ought to be warned. :)
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!