[Solved] A Question of Capitalization

Woland

Hello All,

So this question is not super important, but it is one that I have been itching to ask for a while now:

Are the names of Isadora Actors, Plugins, and the words "User Actor", "Patch", and "Isadora (Forum) User" proper nouns? (As in, should I be capitalizing them?)

It totally does not bother me when I see them treated differently by other people, this is purely just me wondering if I am being silly by treating them as proper nouns...

Example:

Noun: projector actor, Isadora plugin, user actor, (Isadora) patch, Isadora (forum) user

vs.

Proper Noun: Projector Actor, Isadora Plugin, User Actor, (Isadora) Patch, Isadora (Forum) User

I realize that I am just being nit-picky, but as I write tutorials and comments in my patches, I find myself wondering if there is an "official" standing or even a general consensus on this. I can really see it going either way, which is why I am asking.

To those of you who make/write tutorials, do you treat these words as proper nouns? I am very curious...

Thanks in advance for your input,

Woland

mark

Dear @Woland,

Funny, these kinds of things concern me too. I tend to always treat them as proper nouns if they describe an aspect of the Isadora user interface... which how it's done in the manual. However, I usually leave the word actor uncapitalized unless it's part of the name. Thus

Isadora
Scene Editor
Scene
Snapshot
Cue List
User Actor

but I would write "insert the Projector actor" or "adjust the Calculator actor" because the word actor here is related to the name of the actor, not part of the name.

That's my approach.

Best Wishes,

Mark

jhoepffner

Mark,

I am sensitive to the problem of capitalization (but more to the problems of capitalism :-)).

There is not the same rules for french and english but I agree with you, for words used as title, I think is good to have all capitalized, with the possibility to write it more unix friendly (as SceneEditor). But I would write User Actor with capitals because it's a unique entity, not like Projector actor.

You are the boss, it's up to you!

best, Jacques

Woland

Dear @mark,

Ever helpful as always! Thank you very much for the information and for answering my question. I was aware of how it was written in the manual, but I find that sometimes everyday writing conventions do not align with the technical writing conventions found in manuals and I just wanted to be sure.

@jhoepffner

Good luck with your capitalism problems, (we have got plenty here in the USA too). Also, I am curious about your suggestion for writing in a more "Unix friendly" way. I am quite uniformed about Unix, but I'm always itching to learn new things. To that end, and please pardon my ignorance, but what are the benefits of me writing "SceneEditor" in a tutorial rather than "Scene Editor"?

jhoepffner

@Woland

Sorry, the Unix friendly idea was more for Mark…

For example in Unity, when you give the name SceneEditorTransform, it is showed as Scene Editor Transform in the GUI. For the tutorial, I agree with Mark's advice.

I hope for you (and for us) that the next president will be not Trump, like a super capitalized world…

Woland

@jhoepffner

Thanks for the explanation. Also, if Trump is elected I am going to flee the country.

Woland

@jhoepffner

Trump got elected and I'm finally fleeing the country.

Best wishes,

Woland