A Publication Style Guide for Linux?

Saqib Ali asks: "Apple, publishes the Apple Publications Style Guide, which codifies the way in which Apple documentation uses language. This publication contains information about the specific terms that are used to describe interface elements. It also defines style and usage issues such as how certain terms are used and the preferred capitalization, spelling, and hyphenation of those terms. Some parts of the style guide are excerpted in this chapter to provide quick reference for key elements of the user interface. Whenever you are constructing a language for your application, you can consult the Apple Publications Style Guide to help you to create consistent and usable one. Is there a similar Style Guide for Linux Publications? If not, why not?"

"My interest in this stems from the fact that there is lot of Linux Documentation (including mine) that are not consistent in the style and terminology. So, I would like to propose a creation of a Style Guide for Linux Technical Publication. I think a wiki would be the perfect tool to create this Guide collaboratively. I am willing to host a Wiki @ http://tools.tldp.org (The Linux Documentation Project development server). Is this a good idea? Are people interested in seeing something of this sort?"

Comments

The ultimate irony

[AtariAmarok]

Clippy: "You seem to be writing a Linux style guide. Would you like some help?"

paraphrasing Alan Cox,

[Chipaca]

If there isn't one, it's because you haven't written it yet.

Let the holy wars commence

[BenjyD]

After seeing the flame-war that ensued on the KDE lists over whether to use Folder or Directory in dialog boxes, I predict flamewars during the writing of the guide on a scale not seen since the Emacsian Jihad.

IMHO, though, a very good idea - once established, the OSS has a habit of sticking to standards.

Re:Of course not

[FattMattP]

Your post does not follow the Slashdot Posting Style Guide closely enough. Next time, please use more misspellings and less facts and insightful observations.

:-)

AUISG.

[richie2000]

Just fork the Amiga User Interface Style Guide as Linux User Style Enterprise Recommendations and release it under 4711 different licenses (except that XFree 1.1 one). Then make an rpm, deb, tgz and ebuild for it and you're set.

Re:AUISG.

[richie2000]

Ah, you've been searching for the wrong title. That would be Darl McBride's Illustrated Guide to Forking Everyone in their Rear Orifice and Charging $699 for the Pleasure. I hear it's coming out in a For Dummies version soon.

SCO - Fucking their customers with style.

I thought there was one

[crisco]

Plain Text!