If the title of this entry was “Period.” instead of “Period,” what difference would it make? When should we use periods in titles/header graphics, and for what reason? Does anyone know of any research papers on the use of a period in these cases?
Period
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In Web, Design, Thought on November 12th, 2005 |
11 Remarks
I only use punctuation when it adds to the feel I’m going for in the header. Headers aren’t usually complete sentences so use of periods seems trivial to me.
November 12th, 2005 at 11:10 am
I use it to cap proper sentences not used as headings or titles typically. I know this one guy who always complains to me about that. I wrote a dfn title for a site and ended it with a period; it was two senetences, actually. He complained… “Why you’d put a full stop on that text. Full stop?! I had to laugh. It’s not script, it’s a sentence.
November 12th, 2005 at 12:38 pm
They really shouldn’t be used in a title, since a title is not a sentence, but rather a fragment. Except, I guess, you could use it for emphasis. Like:
“Linux is awesome. Period.”
Or maybe if you have a two sentence title.
“I like Linux. Do you?”
But generally titles aren’t full sentences
“Linux on My Box”
Word.
November 13th, 2005 at 12:07 am
True, but this was a definition so it seemed to make sense to me.
November 13th, 2005 at 9:05 am
I just skimmed my archives and I haven’t used any periods in my titles, but I have used question marks a few times.
November 13th, 2005 at 1:27 pm
I understand that it’s technically improper to use a period in a title, but I was interested in collecting thoughts on how it affects the way one reads the title.
November 13th, 2005 at 3:41 pm
I like to think the use of a period this way is to mean that it is a definite opinion and that’s just how it is, and the topic is not open for debate. For example (Bob’s example):
“Linux is awesome” would simply express an opinion that others would debate, but…
“Linux is awesome.” means you’re set on that opinion and NOTHING will change your mind about it.
I don’t know, that’s just what I’ve always taken it to mean.
November 13th, 2005 at 9:46 pm
That’s what I’m looking for! Thanks, Daniel, you may have nailed it. (At least, the way you expressed it was less technical and right-brained than Bob’s response, although he may have been trying to convey the same message. If that is the case, I apologize for that, Bob.)
Any other thoughts like that?
November 14th, 2005 at 1:33 am
I think it’s just a termination of a sentence, short or long. If Bob were adamant, he’d be better to end the sentence with an exclamation point!
November 15th, 2005 at 4:03 pm
To pass word-processing exams, the rule is either all punctuation or no punctuation, (in headings, addresses, other non-paragraph text). So a period, or full stop as I call them, can be used for consistent style. But I prefer the ‘clean’ look without the punctuation wherever possible.
November 17th, 2005 at 9:26 pm
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October 7th, 2008 at 7:43 pm