From: Steele, Kirk A (SteeleKA@nafm.misawa.af.mil)
Date: Fri Jan 25 2002 - 21:50:02 MST
APA or MLA?
-----Original Message-----
From: L' Ermit [mailto:lhermit@hotmail.com]
Sent: Friday, January 25, 2002 9:30 PM
To: virus@lucifer.com
Subject: virus: FAQ: Hermitish mail mark-up and citation
Objective:
A simplified mail-markup system designed to allow those other than the
authors to more easily follow discussions and to ensure the readability of
messages by preventing the following kind of thing:
<example>
Source [RE: virus: machines, Joe Dees, Mon 1999-10-04 10:50]
> > > > > > > >I TOLD you that this mystical buddhist memebot would advance
> > > > > > > >from a denial of the self to a denial of the world!
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Please explain how that statement constitutes a denial
> > of the world.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > Our "subjective" reality is never purely subjective, for it
> > > > contains (as
> > > > > > content) information, stimuli, information, perceptions,
> > etc. from the
> > > > > > surrounding world. To deny such lived experience its
> > reality is to
> > > > > > deny the reality of the environong world from which its
> > content flows.
</example>
Preferred Implementation:
Attribution:
Each paragraph is identified by the name of the speaker. e.g.:
<example>
[Hermit] Says something.
</example>
When a sequence of communications occur, this may be suffixed by a number.
In order to denote who spoke first, the first entry of the first speaker is
suffixed by an asterisk. e.g.:
<example>
[Hermit 0*] A implies B.
[Somebody 0] So is B True?
[Hermit 1] Only if A is True.
</example>
In order to refer to a particular statement a decimal may be suffixed to the
number. e.g.:
<example>
Yada, Yada, Yada...
[Hermit 0.5] I refer to "some useful reference" which says X.
Yada, Yada, Yada...
[Somebody 0] I don't think that "some useful reference" is really useful.
[Hermit 1] But in [Hermit 0.5] I have already provided a reference you can
check for yourself.
</example>
It is not necessary to number each paragraph, simply add reference numbers
where needed. When reference numbers are added to a post, they should be
done so in sequence. It is always possible to insert a new reference when
required by adding another level of decimal. e.g.:
<example>
[Hermit 1.1] existing
[Hermit 1.15] <--- inserted
[Hermit 1.2] existing
</example>
When you need to quote from a previous letter, you may use negative numbers
to indicate it precedes the current series.
<example>
[Hermit 0*] It is clear that...
[Somebody 0] I don't see that it is clear at all...
[Hermit 1] Well if we look at [some cross reference] you will see that you
said:
[Somebody -1] From a previous post, possibly on a different thread: Yada,
Yada, Yada...
[Hermit 1] From this is follows...
</example>
Citation:
To refer to a previous post, cite it as:
["Subject Line", Author, Sent Time]
If you have a web link to an archive, cite it as follows:
[http://forum.javien.com/XMLmessage.php?id=id::chZKR3t1-WX9t-PTwm-TFJ1-WwBiQ
StAPz5o,
"virus: News Flash: Hermit Gets Earlobe Bitten Off by Tyson-like CoV
Member", Hermit, 2002-01-23 13:00]
This allows the post to be found in a large number of ways and prevents the
confusion of which post in a sequence sharing a subject line and with
multiple participants is actually meant.
When you cite a web page, affix a date so that others may see when it was
last accessed. e.g.:
[http://www.htmlclinic.com/metatags.php accessed 2002-01-25]
Dating:
I recommend the use of ISO dating which has the following format:
YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM[:SS] [TIMEZONE]. This automatically sorts things so dated
in time sequence. Seconds and the time zone may be omitted if unimportant.
It is recommended that Universal (i.e. Zulu) time be used to avoid
confusion.
Elision:
When material is omitted from a follow-up post, the omitted material should
be denoted by:
<example>
<snip>
</example>
Other Mark-up:
It is recommended that XML/HTML style bracketing be used, allowing clarity
of what is so denoted. An example
<example>
I would like the next word <em>emphasized</em> but the rest of the sentence
is not. I am <i>italicizing</i> this word. This is a
<quote>quotation</quote>.
The use of CAPITALS to demote emphasis is often perceived as being
equivalent to <i>shouting</i> and is depreciated.
</example>
Responsibilities:
An initial post in a sequence need not be so marked up, as it may garner no
replies. The respondent to a post then has the responsibility of marking up
the original message.
Subsequent replies and comments on a message already so marked up, have the
responsibility of marking up their reply appropriately.
Each person sending a message has the responsibility of removing superfluous
line breaks caused by wrapping in lame mail clients from their messages.
Status:
The use of this system is recommended but not mandated. Using it will make
it more likely that your submissions will be read by others and prevent this
from becoming a "write only zone."
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Wed Sep 25 2002 - 13:28:41 MDT