Style Guide for Online Writing

This is definitely a work in progress.....

Introduction

Formulating an online writing style guide is an important aspect of developing and maintaining a Web site or blog. The style guide not only serves as a guide for the online writer, but also serves as a map to the reader offering both familiarity and continuity. For the purposes of this class, we have been asked to construct our own online style guide to help support the upcoming research project.

Audience

One of the most important aspects of writing for digital media is understanding the audience and tailoring the message to best serve that audience's purpose. It should be noted that the target audience is not the only audience that is listening or reading. Therefore, it may be necessary to incorporate ideas into a more user-friendly format that reaches subsequent audiences while not undermining the intelligence of the target audience.

In terms of this research project, I am going to use the AP Style Guide as a foundation for my writing. I reserve the right to incorporate my own writing style if it seems it would be more beneficial to help deliver the message. My style will continue to reflect the guidelines set forth by the AP Style Guide, but will help to fill in the some of the gaps that are left behind by this "print" heavy style book.

Text Style

I have found that the default font and text size provided by blogger are suitable for conveying the message. I typically use large and bold text for headers and italicized and bold text for emphasis within the body of the post.

Where ever appropriate, it is preferred that lists are used instead of large chunks of text. This helps to keep the information scannable and concise; two important components of online writing.

The text is generally white and hyperlinks are green. Currently, the hyperlink will become white and underlined when the mouse is rolled over the text. Other colors, such as the colors of the rainbow, will be used to add emphasis to the text when/where appropriate.

Visual Style

Where appropriate, photos will be included in the body of the text in a manner that both supports the information that is being presented and helps break up the information into specific sections for greater understanding.

There will be no specific guidelines as to what size the photos will be as long as they are appropriate to the context of the post. All photos will be resized in Adobe Photoshop to help maintain the photos original quality.

Alt tags will be provided for all images. When needed, rollover images may be used. As well, captions will be provided to help describe the images in context to the post.

Citations

Due to the fact that the final project consists of a research paper, I feel it is necessary to include information about citations. All information will be properly cited, in the correct format as dictated by MLA guidelines.

Footnotes will be used to identify the appropriate sources as they arise in the text of the paper. Where appropriate, hyperlinks will be featured as part of the information provided in the footnotes

Research Specific Entries

My hopes are that this research project will have a fairly wide audience. Taking a deeper look at how the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community are being effected by digital media and how the community is using this new technology for personal activism is meant to serve as a discovery of the human spirit. It will be necessary to go into greater detail about the the history of the LGBT community and other human rights movements in order to fully explore the realm of today's online activism.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender - should be written out on first reference. LGBT is appropriate to use on second reference. Lesbian refers to women, gay refers to men, and bisexual refers to both men and women. Transgender can sometimes be a confusing term for some individuals. Use the pronoun that is preferred by the individual. Ex. Male to female -transgender female. Female to male - transgender male. Avoid transsexual and transvestite. A transgender person is not a drag king or drag queen.

Gay - should be avoided as an umbrella term for people in the LGBT community because it lends itself to further the invisibility of the community as a whole.

Queer - Once a pejorative term that has now been reclaimed by the LGBT community. Will not be used for this research project because it lends itself to further ageism within the community.

Sexual orientation v. gender identity - lesbian, gay and bisexual refer to a sexual orientation, transgender refers to a gender identity.

Heteronormativity - referring to the misconception that heterosexuality is the norm and the most acceptable and prevalent form of sexual orientation.

Heterosexism - referring to the various privileges enjoyed by heterosexuals and the continued oppressions subjected to people who do not identify as heterosexual.

Sex or Gender Reassignment Surgery - preferred term. Avoid sex-change operation.

More entries to come...but for now a great online source can be found on the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association Web site.