Jots and Tittles

Last week, it came to our attention that we—gasp—had no set style regarding punctuation usage in links. Now, this might not seem like a huge deal, but "to punctuate or not to punctuate" (like right there, for instance) actually is important from both usability and editorial standpoints. It can affect the semantics of your Web page, the way readers scan text, and how screen readers treat the text for visually impaired users. Taking all of these aspects into consideration made the decision a tricky one.

But we were up to the task. Armed with our Chicago Manual of Style, various examples from other Web sites, usability recommendations, and of course, our geek pride, we discussed the issue at our editors' meeting this afternoon.

After a lively debate, we, the editors, have set a new style regarding punctuation usage in links. I'd like to thank our two honorary editors—Jane Below, our information architect, and Ashley Callahan, our interactive technologist—for their input and expert opinions on the matter, as well as Margaret Londergan at Adaptive Technology Services for her usability recommendations. I'd also like to thank the Academy. Well, not really. But see what I did there?

Now I know you're all wondering, "So what's the rule? Do I ever use punctuation in the link?"

Check out our updated style guide for the answers. If you're also wondering, "What the heck are jots and tittles?" you can e-mail Linda Stephenson, senior writer-editor, and beg her to write a blog about her expertise on the matter. Or you can just check it out on Wikipedia. That's what we did.