Re: Bug 8404 -- taking it to the lists

Here are more instances of figures and tables discussed in
publications. Sorry if I repeat anything you have Laura.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16978740

Talks about the quality of figures AND tables in publications,
specifically data tables. Not just figure, or just table. Figures and
_data_ tables

http://www.vanguard.edu/faculty/ddegelman/index.aspx?doc_id=796

The APA style guidelines. I have a degree in psychology as well as
comp sci, and I can guarantee you do not waiver from these guidelines
when publishing a paper or book. The guidelines state:

Tables: A common use of tables is to present quantitative data or the
results of statistical analyses (such as ANOVA)

Figures: A common use of Figures is to present graphs, photographs, or
other illustrations (other than tables).

The style guide for the Colorado School of Mines, (PDF)

http://inside.mines.edu/~mmyoung/phgn471/FigsTables.pdf

Which states, specifically, that tables are not figures

The Geological Society of America style guide:

http://www.geosociety.org/pubs/geoguid6.htm

Tables should replace text, not duplicate it. The numbering scheme
should reflect each table's physical location in the document—tables
in main text start with "TABLE 1."; tables in appendix start with
"TABLE A1." See our sample table for further instructions

All illustrations, whether line drawings or photographs, are
considered figures. GSA prefers electronic files, but sometimes we may
have to scan clean hard copy if the files are unusable.

nature.com formatting guidelines:

http://www.nature.com/nature/authors/gta/

Nature requires figures in electronic format. Please ensure that all
digital images comply with the Nature guide for digital images.

And I can probably bring in another couple hundred references in
addition to the above and Laura's, all describing tables and figures
as two different things. AND, where it makes sense to the field,
examples and equations are listed as a third item.

Now, I know that members of this group have stated in the past that
experts from other fields don't hold sway here, and that this group
doesn't give much credence to expertise in other areas, but when
publications such as books are brought up as justification for a
decision in HTML5, I think it is only appropriate that we refer to the
publication industry guidelines and norms when determining how to
interpret what we find when we search in Google books.

And we should ensure that HTML5 works for the _norm_ not for the exceptions.

Shelley

Received on Wednesday, 2 December 2009 17:47:05 UTC