Editor's Corner

The words affect and effect confuse many people. Typically, we use affect as a verb, and effect as a noun. (A verb describes an action or state of being. A noun is person, place, or thing.)

Affect (used as a verb) means “to influence”

Effect (used as a noun) means “a result”

· Eating a banana split before bedtime affected my sleep and gave me insomnia last night.

· Eating a banana split before bedtime had a disastrous effect on my stomach last night.

Thank you,

Jackie Solano

Technical Writer, Episys Technical Publications

Symitar®

8985 Balboa Avenue

San Diego, California 92123

Direct Line: 619-542-6711

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Just the other day, someone asked me if a capital idea was spelled “capital” or “capitol.” Here is a tidbit on that topic from The Grammar Devotional, by Mignon Fogarty:

A Capital Idea: Capital Versus Capitol

When the noun capitol ends with an ol, it’s referring to buildings—state capitol buildings or the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. You can remember that the rotunda of the D.C. Capitol building is round like the letter o.

Capital refers to (among other things) uppercase letters, wealth, or a city that is the seat of government for its region or is important in some way. Don’t get confused by the fact that capital with an al is used for a capital city and capitol with an ol is used for a capitol building. Just remember the o is round like a building’s rotunda.

U.S. Capitol Rotunda (Located below the Capitol Dome)

U.S. Capitol Dome

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

Since many of you seemed to enjoy the Game of Thrones archery and English lesson last week, I’d like to drag you along into another world I like to visit—that of the Boardwalk Empire. This show is set in the 1920s (it actually starts with the 18th Amendment going into effect) and the results of Prohibition. Not only do they do a great job with the sets, the clothes, and history, but the language is very interesting. (No, not the four-letter words; I’m familiar enough with those.) Here are a couple terms of note for you to consider.

From Merriam-Webster:

red cent

1: cent 1b; specifically: a large copper U.S. cent of the series coined 1793–1857

2: a trivial amount: penny, whit

Example: I wouldn’t pay one red cent for that watered-down whiskey!

Some sources say that the phrase comes from the colors of the pennies themselves, which contained a different mix of copper and nickel and turned redder as they were handled by more people. Others say that the term came from the “Indian Head penny” that was issued from 1864 into the early 20th century; the “red” part of the cent came from the slang term for Native Americans, “redskin.”

“Indian Head” Penny

From Wikipedia:

bloviation, bloviating
A style of empty, pompous political speech particularly associated with Ohio due to the term’s popularization by United States President Warren G. Harding, who described it as "the art of speaking for as long as the occasion warrants, and saying nothing." The verb "to bloviate" is the act of creating bloviation. In terms of its etymology, according to one source, the word is a "compound of blow, in its sense of ‘to boast’ (also in another typical Americanism, blowhard), with a mock-Latin ending to give it the self-important stature that is implicit in its meaning."

Warren G. Harding

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

Incorrect usage of the word display is still lingering around Symitar Editing. Please refer to these standards when determining when to use display vs. appear.

Thank you,

Jackie Solano

Technical Writer, Episys Technical Publications

Symitar®

8985 Balboa Avenue

San Diego, California 92123

Direct Line: 619-542-6711

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message,
together with any attachment, may contain confidential and/or privileged information.
Any unauthorized review, use, printing, saving, copying, disclosure or distribution
is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please
immediately advise the sender by reply email and delete all copies.

Good afternoon, folks. I’m going to finish up the social media vocabulary today, since I know there are many of you out there who are instantly put to sleep by these newer additions to our language. The last few terms and definitions from The Concept Company are:

· Wall
This is a term for your Facebook profile page and the updates it contains. People can write updates on your wall that are viewable by all your friends.

· Web Analytics
The measurement, analysis and reporting of Web data and trends. Web analytics can be used for many purposes, including search engine optimization, market segmentation and targeting, understanding usage patterns, etc.

· Webcast
A live or pre-recorded broadcast of an audio or video presentation, delivered via the Web.

· Webconference
Use of the web to conduct a live meeting or presentation. In a web conference, each participant sits at his or her own computer and is connected to other participants via the Internet. [KC – Examples: WebEx, GoToMeeting]

· Webinar
A web-based seminar, where the presentation, lecture, or workshop is transmitted over the Internet instead of in person.

· Widget
Similar to an app, a widget is a small block of content that one provider can offer to another, for use on another blog or website. Widgets have a specific purpose such as showing weather forecasts, stock quotes, or news updates and are constantly updated by the creator of the widget, not someone who hosts it on his site.

· Wi-fi
Stands for wireless fidelity, a simple system allowing enabled devices to connect to the Internet within short range of any access point without cables or adaptors. A more powerful wireless technology, WiMAX, is not yet deployed as widely as wi-fi. [KC – Pronounce why-fie, with long “I” sounds. Not pronounced “whiffy,” as in “You have whiffy pits—you need a shower.” Not pronounced “wifey,” as in “When Sgt. Tangle said, ‘What a cute little wifey you got there,’ Sgt. Bickle’s wife turned around and socked
Sgt. Tangle in the jaw.”]

· Wiki
A type of user-generated and -edited website where multiple people can write and manage the content. A great example of this concept is Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia.

· Wikipedia
A free, collaborative encyclopedia project that anyone can edit; one of the most notable examples of a wiki.

· WordPress
A popular open source blog publishing application.

· Xing
A global social network for business professionals that offers personal profiles, groups, discussion forums, event coordination, and other common social community features. The audience for Xing is similar to that of LinkedIn.

· Yelp
An online directory that lets customers review local businesses, including restaurants, dentists, mechanics, and more. The site is free to join for users and business owners.

· YouTube
A video sharing site owned by Google. Users can freely upload their own video content to the site (you must have the rights to the content), as long as it is less than 10 minutes in length and the file is less than 100MB is size. YouTube makes it easy for people to embed videos on their own site or blogs, which helps with viral marketing efforts. Google results include YouTube videos as well.

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message,
together with any attachment, may contain confidential and/or privileged information.
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is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please
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Only a few more social media terms left! Today we’ll visit the vivacious letter “V,” with terms from The Concept Company. (Sorry, Mom!)

· Video Sharing
A type of social network whereby users can upload, manage, and share video media publicly or with their networks, and comment on the videos of others. The most notable example of a video sharing site is YouTube.

· Vlog
A video blog or Vblog that contains videos instead of text entries. Some people call it video podcasting, vodcasting, or vlogging.

· Viral
When a piece of content on the Internet is shared organically, without prodding or encouragement from the business, organization, or person who created it, it is said to have “gone viral.” This means it has been shared on social networks, posted and reposted, tweeted and retweeted multiple times.

· Virtual Event
A live event, such as a trade show or job fair, which takes place on the Web, often in a virtual environment designed to emulate a face-to-face event of the same kind.

And another gem from The “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks, though I’d also file this under “Shops I Never Want to Visit.”

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

Avoid using unclear references whenever you use a pronoun (you, they, it, etc.) or an article (this, that, etc.) to make sure the reference is clear. In general, use specific descriptions instead of pronouns or articles unless the reference is absolutely clear. Some people make the mistake of using unclear references to avoid repetition; however, no puppy should ever have to suffer.

Thank you,

Jackie Solano

Technical Writer, Episys Technical Publications

Symitar®

8985 Balboa Avenue

San Diego, California 92123

Direct Line: 619-542-6711

As I was watching one of my guilty pleasures Sunday (Game of Thrones), I actually learned some new terms that I thought I’d share with you. As the Sworn Brothers of the Night’s Watch prepared their arrows for the attack of the Wildings, you hear the commands “Nock! Draw! Loose!”

I found it very interesting that archery has its own version of ready-aim-fire, but not one of the words is the same. Here (with some added punctuation from me) are the definitions, from Wikipedia’s Glossary of Archery Terms:

· nock: The act of setting an arrow in a bow

· draw: The act of pulling an arrow against a bow string in readiness for shooting

· loose: The act of shooting an arrow from a bow (a.k.a. “release”)

And along that same note, for those of you with the last name of Archer or Bowman, you can guess what at least one of your former ancestors did. But if your last name is Fletcher, did you know that one of the people in your family was someone who made arrows?

Interesting stuff!

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message,
together with any attachment, may contain confidential and/or privileged information.
Any unauthorized review, use, printing, saving, copying, disclosure or distribution
is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please
immediately advise the sender by reply email and delete all copies.

Here are the last of the capitalization guidelines from the JHA Style Guide for Technical Communication and Training.

Thank you,

Jackie Solano

Technical Writer, Episys Technical Publications

Symitar®

8985 Balboa Avenue

San Diego, California 92123

Direct Line: 619-542-6711

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message,
together with any attachment, may contain confidential and/or privileged information.
Any unauthorized review, use, printing, saving, copying, disclosure or distribution
is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please
immediately advise the sender by reply email and delete all copies.

After yesterday’s Editor’s Corner on academic degrees, I received a question on some different types of degree (Celsius and Fahrenheit). Wouldn’t you know, there are rules on capitalizing the different terms of measurement that are derived from proper names. The standard rule from the Chicago Manual of Style is to lowercase the full name of the unit of measure (if it is based on a person’s name), but to use an uppercase letter to abbreviate the measurement.

Of course there is an exception to that exceptional rule: when a term follows the word “degree” it is capitalized. For example, “It was a hot day in Athens—the thermometer reached 42 degrees Celsius.”

I’ve compiled a table below based on information from Wikipedia and the Chicago Manual of Style. It includes different measurements named after people, what the units measure, and a little information about what those folks did for a living. Enjoy!

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

NOTICE: This electronic mail message and any files transmitted with it are intended
exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The message,
together with any attachment, may contain confidential and/or privileged information.
Any unauthorized review, use, printing, saving, copying, disclosure or distribution
is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please
immediately advise the sender by reply email and delete all copies.