A: Look here, darling, I've got something to tell you right now, and it is of highest priority.
B: You make me curious. Continue.
A: I've found some reasons to feel some affection towards you.
B: Can you be more precise in this statement, please?
A: I've found four reasons to feel an affection towards you increased up to 100 percent.
B: Go ahead ...
A: These are the reasons, in order from top to bottom:
- You look so beautiful.
- You give me reason to live.
- I get excited when I think of you.
- We can exchange more than words.
B: This is a numbered list, shouldn't it be a bullet list?
A: You're right as always, darling. I love the way you edit my words right out of my mouth.
B: Thank you for saying that. Al least you got the punctuation right. But you could have read the Sun Editorial Style Guide, Chapter 3, and follow that advice.
A: You're welcome, darling - better I wake up now.
This can happen to a tech writer when mixing up the following:
- reviewing a newly written Sun book all day long
- reading High Fidelity by Nick Hornby late at night
- trying to live a personal life, as much as possible, if possible at all
If the Sun Editorial Style Guide really does suggest a bulleted list for ordered items, then I'm not surprised people are confused.
Posted by SW on April 17, 2008 at 11:36 PM CEST #