Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by wtbob 3618 days ago
Writing 'eg' instead of 'e.g.' or 'ie' instead of 'i.e.' is just dumb, though. So is confusing the two.
2 comments
manarth 3618 days ago
The Economist recommends "eg" (no full-stops) in its style-guide[1]. As does the Guardian/Observer[2], and the University of Cambridge[3].

There are counter-examples, such as AP and NYT, but this usage - without full-stops - is not uncommon or abnormal.

[1] http://www.economist.com/style-guide/abbreviations

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-observer-style-guide-e

[3] https://www.cam.ac.uk/brand-resources/guidelines/editorial-s...

link
csours 3618 days ago
1. Not everyone is a fluent English reader. If you are providing government services, you have to provide them to "dumb" people as well. "Dumb" in this case includes a lot of smart people who were not raised with English as their first language.

2. There is no official version of the English language. Pronunciations, spellings and style guides change over time.

Disclaimer: This post is subject to Muphry's Law: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry%27s_law

link
wtbob 3617 days ago
> Not everyone is a fluent English reader.

I.e. & e.g. aren't English, but rather Latin. Any educated person in the Western world should understand them, no?

link