- From: David Siegel <dave@verso.com>
- Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 09:57:16 -0700
- To: bosak@atlantic-83.eng.sun.com (Jon Bosak)
- Cc: www-style@w3.org
At 11:23 PM 4/15/97 -0700, you wrote: >[David Siegel:] > >| Ahah. So maybe it happens that first paragraphs should have a >| structural mark-up tag in HTML, one that is STANDARD? While this makes >| perfect sense to typographers, I can see how it might take a while to >| convince structuralists. > >What happens when you change your mind and insert a new first >paragraph in front of the old first paragraph? Actually, this is a really good question. Should such things be up to the style sheet to decide how to present? I believe that the first paragraph in a chapter or section (denoted by a heading) or recipe or play act, etc., needs to have its own display rules. To me, this is structural, but maybe it's really all presentation. There is, however, an example that I think is structural. I often like to start a chapter with a special treatment to get it going -- make it look special. Some people use small caps along the entire first line of a first paragraph in a chapter. I think this is boorish and overbearing, especially if the first line ends in a hyphenated word or something awkward like that. Instead, I like to use small caps on the first "phrase," where the phrase is something I, as the author or publisher, have to decide. To illustrate: THESE WERE DARK DAYS, thought Lewis Levine, as he strode through the wind-swept streets of Minsk on the day before his daughter's wedding. Wouldn't that be a structural thing? I am glad I got people going on this topic anyway. Thanks for the stimulating conversation. David Siegel 415 278-9900 x22 fax 278-9911 S T U D I O V E R S O 512 2nd Street, San Francisco, CA 94107 http://www.verso.com http://www.killersites.com http://www.highfive.com http://www.dsiegel.com In 29 states it is illegal to shout "BINGO!" in a crowded nursing home.
Received on Wednesday, 16 April 1997 13:07:21 UTC