(no subject)

[cblj_backup]

I took today off and am staying at home, in bed, doing things which entertain me. Google searches I have performed this morning so far:

• Can the FBI wiretap cellphones


• Process for restoring sketches


• El Jefe (checking spelling vs. "El Hefe")


• Can the FBI monitor text messages


• Grammar when narrating text conversations


• Grammar when describing text messages


• Grammar text message fiction


• Chicago Manual of Style online

For the record, the Chicago Manual of Style does not define how to incorporate text messages into dialogue. My question was how to punctuate the following text message conversation:

Cooking wheat paste. Been pulling tape off a nude all morning. That sounds a lot more fun than it was.

I don't know, there's a sexy note to tape and nudes.

LOL Not when it involves scalpels.

Should it be, in prose, punctuated thusly, the way dialogue would:

Cooking wheat paste. Been pulling tape off a nude all morning. That sounds a lot more fun than it was, Anais answered.

I don't know, there's a sexy note to tape and nudes.

LOL. Not when it involves scalpels, she shot back.

Or should the punctuation on the text should be preserved, thus:

Cooking wheat paste. Been pulling tape off a nude all morning. That sounds a lot more fun than it was. Anais answered.

I don't know, there's a sexy note to tape and nudes.

LOL Not when it involves scalpels. she shot back.

And if so, should that last "she" should be capitalized, given the text ended in a stop.

I thought I'd go for the nearest approximation once it became clear I wouldn't find anything in the Chicago Manual about chats, SMS, text messages. The problem is, I found two: one digital and one old-school.

When quoting something containing an email address, "Readers of print sources should assume that any punctuation at the end of an e-mail address or URL belongs to the sentence" meaning that you should punctuate the same way the digital statement was punctuated; plus, when citing a digital source, the Chicago Manual says it's permissible, though not necessary, to enclose the URL in brackets which will isolate it from surrounding punctuation (thus preventing a corruption of the URL). This does look rather stylish and somewhat futuristic:

[Cooking weat paste. Been pulling tape off a nude all morning. That sounds a lot more fun than it was.] Anais answered.

On the other hand, the Manual suggests that "unpublished field notes (the author’s own or those of a colleague or assistant)" which is informal communication comparable to a text message, should be "edited for consistency — with other notes and with the surrounding text—in matters of spelling, capitalization, punctuation..." and so forth. Which would mean punctuating the text messages like a conversation, per the first example.

Oh, what a madcap world in which we live.

Comments

[frenchroast.livejournal.com]

I have to say, I love the bracket approach as a way to clearly indicate that it's a text message. That might just be because it reminds me of the < and > used in the Animorphs series to indicate thought-speech, however.

[itcamefromjapan.livejournal.com]

That was my exact reaction!

[etharei.livejournal.com]

This was 100% my reaction also :DDD I suspect my friends were very puzzled over my lapses into amusement when I was learning HTML tags.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

We used to do that back in the pre-html days on the usenet! Interesting.

[bbm-got-me-good.livejournal.com]

As a proofreader but not a native speaker of English, I'd use the proper written-language punctuation and capitalisation, because in a way you're "transcribing" textspeak into written language. I wouldn't use the brackets, because unless you explain what they mean, they are not at all clear to me.

[adina-atl.livejournal.com]

I've always seen texts in fiction done more like a script than a conversation.

Anais: Cooking wheat paste. Been pulling tape off a nude all morning. That sounds a lot more fun than it was.
Other person: I don't know, there's a sexy note to tape and nudes.
Anais: LOL Not when it involves scalpels.

This seems natural to me, maybe because that's how I get IM transcripts at work. (I do a lot of work with coworkers over IM, so our (internal) IM system emails a copy of the transcript after the conversation is over.) It also is more transparent and avoids the somewhat artificial "She shot back," which implies an emotional context that you can't necessarily read from a text.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

I've thought about it, but I really want to indicate an interaction with the texts, more than a transcript -- Anais has overwhelming social anxiety, so in person she's almost insufferably jumpy and neurotic, but via text message or email she's charming, funny, and super-likeable.

Why yes, I CAN'T do anything the easy way, why do you ask....:D

[lacylu42.livejournal.com]

This post makes me very happy.

[queenlily.livejournal.com]

A few years ago I heard of a YA book that was largely carried out via text message. I would recommend going to a brick and mortar bookstore (because my Amazon skills for a book that may or may not be called _OMG_ are failing) and seeing if it's become a common thing.

[bookfanatic]

Found them! ttyl, ttfn, and l8r, g8r by Lauren Myracle. From the preview on Amazon, it looks like they printed the instant messages in transcript style, and printed each character's messages in a different color.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Oh my god that must have been SO expensive to print...

[sanura.livejournal.com]

Oh, god, everything but the dialogue-style punctuation just seems like too much. Unless the period at the end of the text is a plot point, in which case it can be indicated inside the italics without changing the style guide.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think I'll end up going with dialogue-style. It indicates best what I'm trying to get across, anyhow.

[sherylyn]

FWIW (and that's probably not very much), I'd "vote" for the same as bbm_got_me_good said, and for partially the same reason. It *looks* more correct, if nothing else. The brackets and having a stop before the "dialogue tag" make it look wrong to me, no matter what. I think that, as long as there's something w/in the narrative to indicate that this is a text conversation, that that (and the italics -- that works well) is all you need to do to "show" that this isn't a "typical" conversation.

My reaction is based on years of teaching (and attending graduate school :-P) and proof-reading and also running a fanfic archive for 10+ years. Sometimes, IMO, you have to go with what "looks" right, b/c if it causes a reader to do the mental equivalent of stumble and back up while going, "Wait, what...?" -- then that "counts" as a good reason to punctuate or word things in a certain way.

Just my ever-so-humble opinion, but just thought I'd chime in ;-)

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Yeah -- and I realised I am trying to indicate "conversation" more than anything else, so I suppose artistic intent counts for something in this particular case...

[marsdejahthoris.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, Sam, I misread that as "the Chicago Manul of Style," and now all I can see is a Pallas Cat correcting people's grammar...

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

INTO LOLCAT AMIRITE

Xcuse me sur ur grammar is rong

[obsessionality.livejournal.com]

*cough* well, let's just say the more you google questions like that, the more likely you are to be tapped. The feds (the government, in general) have a contract with google, and they can and do track certain catch words. I have a professor who specializes in counter-terrorism legislation, and she knows from personal experience and research that every 'risky'/'questionable' search gets flagged with your IP address. Most people aren't affected, but the more you google/research stuff, the more flags go up. Eventually they'll be able to 'justifiably' tap your messages and no one will be any the wiser. When there's no question of due process, well. *shrugs* *steps off soapbox* sorry!

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Oh, I don't care if I'm tapped; I'm doing nothing wrong. But one of the characters in the book just gave another character the idea that HE might be being tapped, so I had to work out how rational his neurosis was :D

[obsessionality.livejournal.com]

*grins* I jumped to conclusions! With the google searches I'm doing, it's only a matter of time before I'll start getting stopped at airports. It's a fairly reasonable fear in this day and age *shakes head*

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

LOL, well, I wasn't clear it was all for the book. And I mean, in general I am concerned about privacy in this country. Just, I don't think the FBI really give a damn about me :D

[obsessionality.livejournal.com]

well, my plan is to swamp them in gay porn. *nods* yeah. it's a good plan.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Two acceptable options on my mag, either punctuate as for standard dialogue, maintaining consistency, or mark each speaker at the start of the line, followed by a colon, followed by the text.

[elainasaunt.livejournal.com]

It's not as though there's a single accepted style for indicating text messages. I'd go for Adina's suggestion, also endorsed by a few others here. Or use an initial or initials at the end of the text, as in the following passage:

It's even harder to find a quiet place to smoke in New York than in London. I wouldn't have believed it possible. - SH

When Neal contacts you please tell him it's spelled 'catesbeiana'. - SH

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

HAHA. Oh Sherlock.

[small-rodent.livejournal.com]

Personally I found the dialogue style punctuation much more readable, whereas the second option, while more technically correct I think, was jarring and pulled me out of the flow of the conversation. Easy readability always gets my vote!

[lhazzie.livejournal.com]

Ditto.

[shwoop.livejournal.com]

Hi Sam, would it be possible to include this in RFM? (I'm not sure when your formatting cut-off is!)

My friend has had to cut back her hours at work, to take extra university courses both semesters this year in order to graduate on time. Her cat was recently diagnosed with luxating patella (dislocating knee cap). He's a young, very active, friendly cat (he plays fetch!), and he may end up with severe arthritis if he doesn't get surgery soon. She's currently raising money for the surgery here: http://www.gofundme.com/688uig

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

I can definitely RFM. Thanks!

[metallumai.livejournal.com]

old-fashioned, me: I'd use regular quotation marks, but italicize the words, if I were writing a text conversation.

I hope the FBI IS monitoring your conversations; they could use a bit of entertainment. Poor guys.

"Enclave" sounds a bit restricted; kind of like an upscale ghetto....

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Enclave does scare me a little. I wonder if there's a dress code and dues to pay.