Hi Branden, On Thu, Dec 05, 2024 at 04:34:54AM -0600, G. Branden Robinson wrote: > [trimming the linux-fsdevel list from CC, reasoning that it cares little > about typography] > > Hi Alex, > > At 2024-12-05T11:02:10+0100, Alejandro Colomar wrote: > > No; the comma shouldn't be in italics. > > > > .B STATX_WRITE_ATOMIC > > .RI ( stx_atomic_write_unit_min , > > .IR stx_atomic_write_unit_max , > > and > > .IR stx_atomic_write_segments_max ) > > Style authorities differ on this point.[1] At least three factors are > in tension: > > 1. In traditional typography, one does in fact set the comma in italics > like the preceding word. To some eyes, including mine, that looks > better. I think this is in concordance with the other meh thing US typographers do: put punctuation within quotes, misattributing them to the quotee. I don't like that. > > 2. It is true that the comma is not part of the named parameter, so > under rules analogous to those that govern quotation marks in the > U.K., for instance, one would _not_ put the comma in italics. Indeed. Similar rules apply in Spain, AFAIR. And this isn't documented in man-pages(7) either. We probaby should. > 3. It doesn't matter all that much because unlike with literals, like > STATX_WRITE_ATOMIC, precise copy-and-pasting doesn't buy you much. > A formal argument name frequently _lacks_ a corresponding symbol of > the same name in source code. Users of memmem(3) need not name > their parameters "needle" or "haystack". So almost no one needs to > precisely aim their pointer between the final letter of the > parameter name and the trailing punctuation. In PDF output it doesn't matter much, but underscoring a comma (which will happen in terminals) is quite more egregious than just a minor oddity when the last letter overlaps the punctuation slightly in the PDF. So, I'd say it matters in our case. > > Given these factors, if you have a strong preference here, I think you > should document it in man-pages(7). I do. > > Regards, > Branden > > [1] https://iconlogic.blogs.com/weblog/2011/04/writing-grammar-do-i-italicize-the-comma-after-an-italic-word.html > > https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/9878/should-punctuation-surrounding-italicised-words-be-italicised > > (The foregoing quotes the [in]famous Chicago Manual of Style, which > I generally like except for the malicious lies about historical > inter-sentence spacing practices promulgated by its editor, the > dreadful Russell Harper.[2]) > > https://style.mla.org/comma-after-italicized-element/ I like the advice in that link. :) > > [2] https://web.archive.org/web/20171217060354/http://www.heracliteanriver.com/?p=324 Thanks for the link! I applied this commit now: <https://www.alejandro-colomar.es/src/alx/linux/man-pages/man-pages.git/commit/?h=contrib&id=bcf7d00fa4c7ce270f07d6e347c01b1f1e37580f> Have a lovely day! Alex -- <https://www.alejandro-colomar.es/>
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