The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 20.0325 Monday, 22 June 2009
From: Hardy M. Cook <
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Date: Monday, June 22, 2009
Subject: Editing SHAKSPER
I have on several occasions explained the procedures I used to format
SHAKSPER digests for distribution (see
http://www.shaksper.net/archives/2008/0260.html).
I strive to achieve a consistent appearance by the following steps:
1. HEADER: I begin by including an HEADER that indicates the day, date,
and number of the digest I am working on, such as "The Shakespeare
Conference: SHK XX.XXXX Monday, 22 June 2009".
2. Single posts are identified by NAME, DATE, and SUBJECT, information I
extract from the header of each e-mail. For digests with multiple
submissions, I further include a list of contributions in a table of
contents for the digest.
3. To make SHAKSPER digests readable across as many platforms as
possible, I have since I began editing SHAKSPER digests used the pure
ASCII character set with a "full block" format.
4. All lines are flushed with left margin, including long quotations and
bulleted or numbered lists (since the right margin is variable, having
consistent-looking results is usually not possible).
5. Lines are single-spaced.
6. Paragraphs are not indented; instead, individual paragraphs are
identified by having a blank line between them.
7. All sentences are formatted so they word-wrap in the e-mail client;
to avoid sentences beginning with a single space indentation, I put
single space between the terminal mark of punctuation and the beginning
of the next sentence instead of two of the MLA format.
[When an e-mail is saved, some computer platforms, web browsers, or
e-mail clients insert "Carriage Returns" or "Line Feeds" or both at line
breaks, so I have created a macro I use to remove "Carriage Returns,"
indicated by CR or the Paragraph symbol or CR/LF at the end of a line
(EOL).]
I do not have the time to consistently include all formatting options;
however, when I can I indicate _Italics_ by including an underscored
character at the beginning and ending of what should be italicized. To
indicate *Bold* formatting, I use the * symbols at the beginning and
ending of what should be in bold typeface.
Other formatting suggestions are these (see the SHAKSPER Netiquette
page: http://www.shaksper.net/netiquette.html).
1. If your name does not appear in the FROM line or does not appear
correctly (that is the account is in the name of a spouse, partner,
companion, alias, or other), sign your name at the bottom so I can copy
and paste it next to your e-mail address. You may include your title,
academic affiliation, geographical location, or similar information, but
signatures should be kept to a maximum of three lines.
2. Do not copy and resend the message to which you are replying or
automatically include all the original post or digest. Quote,
paraphrase, copy and paste, or cite your correspondent by name,
providing as much of the context as needed to clarify the nature of your
reply. The convention of some Internet lists and groups to address
almost all points from the post to which you are responding is
cumbersome and tiring for most readers or, at least, for your editor.
3. If you "copy and paste" information from another Internet or
electronic source, which often results in irregularly spaced lines of
text, then format that text to be sure that the information is
word-wrapped and does not require me to spend additional time formatting
the text for distribution.
4. Avoid the temptation of simply copying and pasting entire online
articles and reviews and forwarding them directly to the list. Posters
should judiciously quote and summarize then provide the URL.
FINAL NOTE ON FORMATTING:
Most formatting in submissions is stripped when I save the text in the
ASCII character set.
Thus, members of the list who want to insure that special formatting is
preserved in their posting/submission should strive as much as possible
to observe the above formatting conventions when sending submissions to
the list. Observing these formatting conventions will go a long way
toward preserving how the member's text is presented while saving me a
much time and effort preparing it for distribution.
Thank you for your consideration in these matters,
Hardy M. Cook
Editor of SHAKSPER
_______________________________________________________________
S H A K S P E R: The Global Shakespeare Discussion List
Hardy M. Cook,
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The S H A K S P E R Web Site <http://www.shaksper.net>
DISCLAIMER: Although SHAKSPER is a moderated discussion list, the
opinions expressed on it are the sole property of the poster, and the
editor assumes no responsibility for them.
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