Docs Project Style Guide - Quick Reference

When to Spell Out a Number
Rules for using Arabic numerals or spelling out numbers are as follows and are listed from highest priority to lowest.


 * If the number is part of a casual expression, spell it out.
 * If the number is a calendar year, do not spell it out.
 * If the number is an age or percentage, do not spell it out.
 * If the number begins a sentence, spell it out. Awkward sentences should be reformed.
 * If the number is greater than 10, do not spell it out.
 * If the number is one through nine, spell it out.

When to Use Roman Numerals

 * Use Roman numerals for wars and honorific suffixes.

World War II John Doe III

Cardinal Numbers and Ordinal Numbers

 * Cardinal numbers include figures 1, 2, 10, 101, and so on, and the corresponding words.
 * Ordinal numbers include the terms 1st, 2nd, 10th, 101st, and so on, and the corresponding words.

Large Numbers

 * When spelling out large numbers, connect words ending in 'y' to subsequent words within the same number with a hyphen.
 * Avoid commas between words that are part of one number.

twenty-one one hundred thirty-one twenty-five thousand one hundred thirty-one ninety bottles

Proper Names

 * Write proper names according to the owner's practice.

The United States

 * As a noun appearing alone, use "United States."

...the government of the United States...


 * As a noun appearing as part of a locality, use "US" with no periods and no spaces.

Raleigh, NC, US US, Earth


 * As an adjective, use "U.S." with no spaces.

...the U.S. government...

States

 * Spell out state names when they appear alone.

...the government of North Carolina...


 * When abbreviating state names, use their two-letter ZIP standard abbreviations.
 * Abbreviate state names when they appear as part of a locality.

Raleigh, NC


 * Place one comma between the city and state name and another after the state name, unless it ends the sentence or is part of a dateline.

...founded in Raleigh, NC, by Red Hat... ...managed from Raleigh, NC.

Academic Degrees

 * Avoid abbreviating degrees.
 * Use an apostrophe in bachelor's degree, master's, etc.
 * Do not use an apostrophe in Bachelor of Arts, Master of Science, etc.
 * Use abbreviations only when the preferred method would be cumbersome.
 * Use abbreviations only after a full name.
 * Set abbreviations apart with commas.

Dates

 * Spell out days of the week and separate them from dates using a comma.
 * When listing a day, month and year, use ISO 8601 dates (YYYY-MM-DD). Read more about dates and times on the DatesAndTimes  page.
 * When listing a day and month:
 * List the day first.
 * Spell out the day.
 * Set the day and month apart with "of."
 * Spell out the month.
 * When listing a month and year:
 * List the month first.
 * Spell out the month.
 * Set the month and year apart with "of."
 * Use Arabic numerals for the year.

Sunday, 2000-01-01 2000-01-01 The first of January January of 2000

Times

 * Use 24-hour time formats.
 * Always use figures.
 * Follow absolute times with a timezone specification.
 * Separate days, hours, minutes and seconds with a colon and no spaces.
 * Separate seconds and fractions thereof with periods.
 * If the scope of a specification is unclear, increase the precision or specify the scope of the lowest precision.
 * Use Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) for all worldwide events. Refer to the DatesAndTimes  page for more information about UTC.
 * Localized events may be specified using UTC or the local time, but always specify a timezone or offset.

15:00 UTC 1:15:00:00.50 (1 day, 15 hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds and 50/100 of one second) 15:00 minutes (15 minutes) 15:30 hours (15 hours and 30 minutes) The global conference will take place at 15:00 UTC. The event will be in Raleigh, NC, and will take place at 11:00 UTC-4.

Commas
For consistency and to avoid ambiguity, use a serial comma after every item in a list save the last. This usage is sometimes called the "Harvard comma" or the "Oxford comma."

spam, spam, spam, and eggs

Do not use a serial comma in the name of companies such as law firms.

Dewey, Cheatam & Howe

Lists

 * Capitalize and use periods when the list items are complete sentences.
 * Make them agree so that there aren't a mixture of sentences and fragments.

You could also have a list with a colon:
 * that was lowercase and not punctuated
 * that again doesn't mix forms
 * that is likely very short

Titles

 * Avoid punctuation in titles, with the exception of hyphens.
 * Avoid abbreviations in titles. Spell words out and introduce abbreviations in the body text.

Units of Measure

 * Metric units are preferred.
 * Use the prefixes published by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) as part of IEC 60027-2 A.2 to express quantities of binary data.

Common Technology Terms

 * cyberspace
 * database
 * dot-com
 * DSL
 * email
 * FLOSS (free/libre open source software)
 * home page
 * hyperlink
 * hypertext
 * Internet
 * intranet
 * log in (intransitive verb)
 * log into
 * login (noun)
 * online
 * shareware
 * Web (proper noun)
 * webcast
 * webmaster
 * website
 * World Wide Web

Denoting trademarks
Never use the trademark symbol (&trade;) or the registration mark (&reg;). If for any reason the Fedora Project is obliged by contract to mention other trademarks in a legend, add the legend as required by the contract.

In addition, all documentation should contain the disclaimer: "All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners." This marking is standard in all Fedora Documentation toolchains at the time of this writing.