Field Book Project Web Style Guide

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Field Book Project
Web

Style Guide


3G, 4G

Types of cell phone networks.


a.m.
/p.m.

Use lowercased letters with periods. In advertisements and other publications adhering to

Associated Press style, “p.m.”
can appear with or without periods. Maintain co
nsistency

throughout each publication.


Do not use “A.M.,” “P.M.,” “am,” “pm,” “AM,” or “PM.”

For 12 p.m., use “noon.” For 12 a.m., use “midnight.”


blog
(n., adj., v.) Preferred to
“
weblog.
”


c.

See
circa
.



catalog
(n.,

adj.,

v.) Use instead of “catal
ogue.”


c
entury

Use digits with centuries in both running text and image captions.


16th
century (noun)

early 18th century (noun)

early
-
18th
-
century image (adjective)

mid
-
19th century (noun)

mid
-
19th
-
century author (adjective)

late 20th century (noun)

la
te
-
20th
-
century photographer (adjective)


circa
Spell out “circa” in text, and abbreviate it as “c.” in parentheses and in captions.


c
ommas

Use the serial comma, the comma before the final item in a series.


Correct:

“Use the visual language of photog
raphy in an active, critical, and creative

way.”

Incorrect:

“Use the visual language of photography in an active, critical and creative

way.”



dashes/hyphens


In

text for typesetting there is a distinction made between hyphens and dashes of different len
gths. These are
represented as such:


hyphen:
-

en dash:
–

em dash:
—


hyphen

Use in compound words, such as “20th
-
century photographer.”

No spaces should be left on either side of a hyphen.

en dash


Use in sequences of numbers or dates, such as “1899
–
1
903” or “January 21
–
March 13, 2006.”

em dash


Use to set off information in sentences, such as “The museum's thir
ty
-
six collections contain more
than 365,000
images
—
some artifactual and some documentary
—
that document decorative art objects and the history

of design worldwide.”


d
ates

Use figures for dates in captions, and spell them out in running text.

In display text, especially in exhibition titles, do not
abbreviate dates.



Federal Art Project, Photographic Division Collection, 1935
–
1942


Between ce
nturies it is necessary to spell out the entire sequence. It is also necessary to do

so for dates spanning from the last year of
one century into the following century.


1899
–
1910

1900
–
1903


D.C., DC

For postal addresses with Zip codes, use the postal co
de “DC”; in all other instances, use

“D.C.”



disc, disk

Use disk when referring to a computer hard disk or floppy disk. Use disc when referring to optical disks such as compact
discs (CDs), digital video/versatile discs (DVDs), and laser discs. Also: di
sc brake, disc jockey, videodisc.


DVD

Abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc.
Abbreviation may always be used.
Plural: DVDs.


DVR

Abbreviations for digital video recorder. Abbreviation

may always be used.
Plural: DVRs.


e
mail

(n
., adj., v.)

One word, no hyphen. Plural: email messages and emails are both acceptable.

Do not use “e
-
mail” or “E
-
mail”


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ePub

Short for electronic publication. An open
-
standard e
-
book file format that can be read on various reading applications and
ha
rdware devices. Example: The style guide is available in the open
-
standard ePub format.


Facebook


like

(v.)

Enclose
like

in quotation marks when referring to the action of indicating approval on a social
-
networking site such as
Facebook.


Example:
Thou
sands of people have
“
liked” us on Facebook, helping to raise funds for Stand Up to Cancer.



Treat the term as you would a user
-
interface element (a button or link, for example) when the reference is to the UI element itself.
We prefer to use boldface to
make UI elements stand out in text
.


Example:
“
Visit us on Facebook and click

Like
, and you could win a prize.
”


FAQ

Stands for Frequently Ask
ed Q
uestion but generally refers to a list of such questions. Can be pronounced two ways: (1) “fak” (in
this case the singular form takes the article a: a FAQ) or (2) “eff
-
ay
-
cue” (in this case the singular form takes the article an: an FAQ).
Either treatm
ent may be used as long as it is used consistently. Plural FAQs (pronounced “faks” or “eff
-
ay
-
cues”).


Example:
“
Many sites include a FAQ to avoid answering the same customer questions repeatedly.
”



field book

Two words. Not “fieldbook.”


Field Book

Project

Note that all three words are capitalized. No preceding “the” is needed.


field notes

Two words. Not “fieldnotes.”


field work

Refers to work conducted by scientists in the field, including collecting specimens. Two words. Not “fieldwo
rk.”


file name

Two words. Not
“
filename.
”


FTP

Abbreviation for File Transfer Protocol.
Abbreviation may always be used.



Verb u
sage may also be used
:
“
Please FTP that file if it’s larger than 3MB.
”


geotagging

(n.),
geotag

(v.)

One word. The verb
means to add geographic data (such as longitude and latitude coordinates) to a
photo or other media file.


Google

(adj. only)


According to
Google guidelines
, this trademark should never be

used as a noun, verb
, and never in the plural or
possessive form. Use
search,

search for,

or
search on
instead.


handheld
(n.),
hand
-
held
(adj.) The noun refers to a personal digital assistant, or PDA.


how
-
to

(n., adj.) Note hyphen when used as a nou
n or an adjective. Plural noun: how
-
tos.


Examples:
“
Your How
-
to Guide to Home Buying
”

(headline set in title case),
“
Home
-
Buying How
-
To
”

(another headline in title case),
“
How
-
tos include insider tips as well as basics you’ll need to understand the proce
ss
”

(sentence).


i
nbox


Institution
When

“Institution” is used as a noun, shortening “Smithsonian Institution,” the “I” should be capitalized, such as “the
Institution was established in 1846.”


After first reference to “the Smithsonian Institution,” it

is acceptable to use “the Institution” for subsequent reference.


Internet
Note capitalization. OK to abbreviate as Net.



intranet
Note lowercase. A private internal network typically accessible only to a select group of individuals.


login

(n., ad
j.);
log in
,
log in to

(v.) One word when used as a noun or an adjective. Two words when used as a verb, which may be
followed by the preposition to. Note that sign in is preferred because it sounds less technical.


logout

(n., adj.),
log out

(v.) One
word when used as a noun or adjective. Two words when used as a verb. Note that sign out is
preferred because it sounds less technical. Example: If you forget to log out, you’ll get a logout reminder.


Mac

Abbreviation for Macintosh, an Apple trademark.
Abbreviation may always be used.


mashup

(n., adj.),
mash up

(v.) One word when used as a noun or an adjective. Two words when used as a verb.


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Examples:
“
Anyone can create a mashup with the right technology.
”

Or, “
Use our technology to mash up RSS feed
s into a single
stream.
”


m
easurements

These are normally provided for works of art in captions. It is customary to list dimensions in

the following sequence
:
height, width, and (if applicable) depth and diameter. Use inches

instead of centimeters for di
mensions.


In running text, dimensions should be featured in numerals, spaces in between, followed by

type of measurement spelled out. Such as:
8 x 10 inches (
not 8x10 in. or 8”x10”
)

All following references to the same measurement (inches, feet) do not ne
ed to be listed

until it changes; featured as: 8 x 10


In caption information, use straight double quotation marks to indicate inches. Convert all

metric measurements to inches. For
extremely large objects, do not break down into feet

and inches; instead,
use only inches.


All measurements should correspond to a degree of accuracy.


megabyte

You may abbreviate as MB. Don’t use “Mbyte.”


microblog

(v.),
microblogging

(n., adj.) No hyphen. To microblog is to post short status updates about yourself or ab
out an event
using a microblogging service such as Twitter.


MP3

Abbreviation for MPEG
-
1 Audio Layer 3. All capitals, no spaces, no periods. Abbreviation may always be used. Plural: MP3s.


NE

For Washington, D.C., addresses, do not use periods in abbre
viations of the city’s quadrants.

A comma should precede the
quadrant abbreviation.


2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE


numbers



Use Associated Press style in advertisements and other public affairs materials.


Use numerals for centuries and measurements.


in t
he late 19th century

until the mid
-
20th century

5.6" x 16.3"

107.0" diameter


For all other situations (except street names, dates, life dates, percentages, and mathematical figures), spell out numbers o
ne through
one hundred and any two
-
word numbers. Use

numerals for 101 and greater (except those numbers that can be expressed in two
words). Use commas for numerals greater than 999.


ninety
-
nine

102

two hundred

five thousand

5,001

one million


For street names, use numerals.


Independence Avenue at 10th St
reet

935 Pennsylvania Avenue


Always use numerals for life dates.


Grace Bradfield (1920
–
1995)


Always use numerals for dates.


August 25, 2003


Use numerals for percentages (but spell out the word “percent”).


74 percent


NW
For Washington, D.C., addre
sses, do not use periods in abbreviations of the city’s quadrants.

A comma should precede the
quadrant abbreviation.


14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW


offline


online


onscreen

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onsite


open source

(n.),
open
-
source

(adj.) Two words when used a
s a noun, hyphenated when used as an adjective.


Example: “With open
-
source software, individuals can study the software’s source code and try to improve the product.”


outbox


password


password
-
protect

(v.) Note hyphen.


Example: “Be sure to passwor
d
-
protect sensitive files on the intranet.”


PDA

Abbreviation for Personal Digital Assistant. Abbreviation may always be used as long as context is clear (abbreviation can al
so
mean public display of affection). Plural: PDAs.


PDF

Abbreviation for Port
able Document Format. Generally used to refer to files created by using Adobe Acrobat. Abbreviation may
always be used. Plural: PDFs.


plug
-
in

(n., adj.),
plug in

(v.) Note hyphen when used as a noun or adjective. Not “plugin.” Two words when used as a v
erb.


pop
-
up

(n., adj.),
pop up
(v.) Note hyphen when used as a noun or adjective. Not “popup.” Two words when used as a verb.


Examples: “Get rid of pop
-
ups before they pop up. Stop pop
-
up ads from ever annoying you again.”


real time

(n.),
real
-
time

(
adj.) Two words when used as a noun, hyphenated when used as an adjective.


Examples: “Watch the file stream in real time. Get real
-
time updates delivered to your phone.”


right
-
click

(n., v.) Note hyphen.


RSS

Acronym for Really Simple Syndication.

All capitals. Abbreviation may always be used
—
but avoid using RSS on its own, since
few people know what it means. Use news feed, RSS news feed, or RSS newsreader as appropriate.


screen capture



screen name



screen reader

An assistive technology (typ
ically software) that vision
-
impaired people can use to hear the words on a webpage.


screensaver



screenshot


SE
For Washington, D.C., addresses, do not use periods in abbreviations of the city’s quadrants.

A comma should precede the
quadrant abbrevia
tion.


12th Street and Independence Avenue, SE


SIA


When using this abbreviation for “Smithsonian
Institution Archives
,” do not use “the” to precede it.


sign
-
in

(n., adj.);
sign in, sign in to

(v.) As a noun or an adjective, it’s hyphenated. As a verb
, it has two words, which may be
followed by the preposition to. Because it sounds less technical,
Yahoo!

prefers sign in to log in or log on.


slideshow

(n., adj.)


smartphone


Smithsonian Museums and Galleries
Official names.


If “Smithsonian” is not

in the official name, it should be listed as Smithsonian’s, such as “Smithsonian’s Cooper
-
Hewitt, National Design
Museum.”


Anacostia Community Museum

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Arts and Industries Building

Cooper
-
Hewitt, National Design Museum

Freer Galle
ry of Art

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George Gustav Heye Center of the National Museum of the American Indian

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

National Air and Space Museum

National Museum of African American History and Culture

National Museum of African Art

National Museum of
American History, Behring Center

National Museum of the American Indian

National Museum of Natural History


Department of Anthropology

Department of Botany

Department of Entomology

Department of Invertebrate Zoology

Department of Mineral Sciences

Departme
nt of Paleobiology


Department of Vertebrate Zoology



Division of Amphibians and Reptiles



Division of Birds



Division of Fishes



Division of Mammals


National Portrait Gallery

National Postal Museum

National Zoological Park

Renwick Gallery of the Smi
thsonian American Art Museum

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Smithsonian Institution Building

Steven F. Udvar
-
Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum


Smithsonian Research Centers

Official names.


Archives of American Art

Museum Conservation Inst
itute (Suitland, MD)

National Zoo’s Conservation and Research Center (Front Royal
, VA)

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (Cambridge, MA)

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (Edgewater, MD)

Smithsonian Institution Archives

Smithsonian Institution
Libraries

Smithsonian Marine Station (Fort Pierce, FL)

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (Panama)


SMS

Abbreviation for Short Message Service, used for text messaging. Abbreviation may be used after initial explanation.


social networking

(n.),
soc
ial
-
networking

(adj.) Note hyphen when used as an adjective. Two words when used as a noun.


Examples: “The social
-
networking phenomenon has really taken off.” Or, “To attract users, the site added social networking.”


Specimen

Plural of this is “sp
ecimens.”


S
W
For Washington, D.C., addresses, do not use periods in abbreviations of the city’s quadrants.

A comma should precede the
quadrant abbreviation.


600 Maryland Avenue, SW


text message

(n.),
text
-
message

(adj., v.) Two words when used as a
noun. Note hyphen when used as an adjective or a verb.


Examples:
“
She had a heated text
-
message argument with her boyfriend.
”

“
Did you get my text message?
” Or, “
I’ll text
-
message
you with the details.
”


The Commons on Flickr


THE BIGGER PICTURE
The

Bigger Picture blog name should be spelled out in all caps, “THE BIGGER PICTURE.”


thumb drive


Two words, lowercase. Another name for flash drive.


titles of works and exhibitions


Italicize titles of artworks, exhibitions, books, and longer publicatio
ns in running text. In

display text,
such as invitations or advertisements, these titles may be set in roman type for

design purposes. Although, their treatment should be
consistent throughout the publication.


touchpad

(n., adj.)

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touchscreen

(n., adj.)


tweet

(n., v.)

Lowercase when referring to a message sent via Twitter or to the action of sending such a message. Past tense:
tweeted.


TWiki

An open
-
source platform for online collaboration. Note capital W. As a trademark, TWiki should be used as an
adjective, not a
noun.


Twitter
(n., adj.)

Capitalize when referring to the microblogging site. Do not use as a verb to refer to communicating on Twitter
—
use
“tweet”
instead.


URL


All capitals. Stands for Uniform Resource

Locator. Abbreviation may alwa
ys be used
. Plural: URLs. Pronunciation “yoo
-
ar
-
el” is
most common (a URL); however, pronouncing URL as “earl” is also acceptable (an URL) as long as it is done consistently.


U.S.

When functioning as an adjective, use “U.S.” instead of “United States.”
(U.S. Airmail Service)


user


Because of the techie, impersonal nature of the term
“
user,
”

consider using
subscriber, reader, visitor,
or similar.


user name


Lowercase, two words. Not
“
username
.
”


video camera


video game


video gamer


videoconferen
ce


videophone


vlog

One word, lowercase. Short for
“
video blog.
”


voicemail


One word, lowercase. Not
“
voice mail.
”


VoIP


Abbreviation for Voice O
ver Internet Protocol. Abbreviation
may be used

after initial explanation.


VPN


Abbreviation for Vir
tual Private Network. Abbreviation may be used after initial explanation.


Web
(n., adj.) Note capitalization. Most compounds formed with “Web” are open, such as “Web conference,” “Web feed,” and “Web
hosting.” Exceptions such as “webpage” and “website”
are included as separate entries in the style guide. See below.


web addresses

When presenting web addresses, omit the preceding “http://” before the address. Unless

used for design or
consistency purposes.


www.si.edu

http://click.si.edu



webcam


webc
ast


webinar

A seminar conducted online.


w
ebisod
e

Short for “web episode.”


weblog

Use only when describing the origin of the word blog, which is the preferred usage.


webmaster


webpage


website


Wi
-
Fi

Short for Wireless Fidelity. Note capital
ization and hyphen. Shortened form may always be used.


wiki

Lowercase. Plural:
“
wikis
.”

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XML


Abbreviation for Extensible Markup Language. Depending on audience, may require explanation on first reference.


Yahoo!


When referring to the company, its b
rands, products, or services, use uppercase
“
Y.
”

Note that the exclamation point is
considered a character, not a punctuation mark. Possessive:
“
Yahoo!’s.
”


YouTube

One word. Note capitalization of this Google trademark.



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Useful Techniques

Linking to

Content

Please use the
title of the destination

page in the context of your writing and link from that text. This improves
readability and aids our Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts
--
helping the search engines find relevant
results on our site.


Fo
r example:

The
Travel Film Archive

has a veritable treasure trove on YouTube…


The link “Travel Film Archive”
goes to a web site by that name,

http://www.tr
avelfilmarchive.com/
.


Avoid the ‘click here’ syndrome found on so many web pages:

NO: If you want information about the Smithsonian's collections, please visit
here
.

YES: You can view all of the Smithsonian's co
llections at the
Smithsonian Collection Search Center
.


Quotes


Quotes.
40 words or 3 lines should be placed in block quotes. Use typepad’s “block quote” button to format
these when possible. Formatted block quot
es do not need quotation marks


Taxon Names


Taxon names
.
For consistency sake, include only genus and species name without author. Example:
Dendroica

adelaidae
.
If possi
ble, hyperlink to the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL)

page with information on that
spec
ies

or other page if not on EOL
.