IBM Style Guide, The: Conventions for Writers and Editors

Foreword

Why do we communicators become so attached to our style guides? We believe they are necessary to promote consistency, especially at a time when we hope to use topic-based content in numerous scenarios to improve our customers’ experience. If the topics we write are not consistently presented, they will not fit together easily. If they are consistently presented, they will seem to speak with the same voice even though they are written by many individuals.

However, a style guide appears to have a power and influence beyond a simple desire for consistency. It seems to represent what we value about the art of technical writing at a time when we continue to widen the scope of whomever we call a technical communicator.

On the bright side, ...