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Specs/style

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< Specs
Revision as of 16:06, 6 November 2013 by GPHemsley (talk | contribs) (Use 'en-US-x-ghemsley' spelling.)
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When writing a spec, it is suggested that you adhere to the following guidelines.

Spelling

Unless otherwise stated, use standard American English spelling.
Continue the history of the Web and use 'en-US' spelling for your specs and the technologies they document. See Wikipedia's Manual of Style for spelling for assistance.
Use "acknowledgements" instead of "acknowledgments".
Whenever 'dg' represents the "soft" /d͡ʒ/ sound, it should be followed by an 'e' or an 'i', to ensure it is not confused with "hard" /dɡ/ sounds.
Use "dialogue" for the noun and "dialog" for all other parts of speech.
Whenever a word has a '-log(ue)' dichotomy, only keep '-ue' for the definitive noun: "monologue", "dialog box", "catalogging", "homologous".

Terminology

Bags of bits

Be careful of your use of the terms "file" and "resource".
Make sure your definitions refer only to bags of bits, and not also stuff in the Real World™ (like baskets of apples).

Willful violations of other specs

When willfully and deliberately violating standards set out in other documents, use the term "willful violation" instead of simply "violation".
"Violation" makes you sound naughty; "willful violation" makes you sound knowledgeable.