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GeneralQuestion about site names

23rd Jul 2015 13:28 UTCBecky Coulson 🌟 Expert

Hello,

While proofreading articles, I have noticed some inconsistency in the way site names are capitalized or not, e.g. "Seula mine" is not, but "Heights Quarry" is capitalized. If the site is named as such by the owners/operators (or known historically by that name), it would seem that "mine" or "quarry" would be a proper noun and therefore capitalized. Could someone tell me if there is a Mindat rule for this? Many thanks, Becky

24th Jul 2015 17:11 UTCBecky Coulson 🌟 Expert

Hi again,

Can any of the managers help me out with this question? It would help when trying to proofread the "Best Minerals" articles! Thanks, Becky

24th Jul 2015 17:23 UTCDavid Von Bargen Manager

http://manual.mindat.org/index.php/Naming_Conventions

Formatting rules section.

24th Jul 2015 17:24 UTCFred E. Davis

The Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed) and the Mineralogical Record style guide for authors suggest that mine, quarry, prospect etc. should not be capitalized.

This is from MinRec:

24th Jul 2015 19:00 UTCBecky Coulson 🌟 Expert

Thank you, David and Fred. I suppose I'll have to follow with the Mindat manual, although it differs from the Chicago Manual. ("Mine" or "quarry", if part of the site's proper name, are capitalized in Mindat.)

24th Jul 2015 20:48 UTCReiner Mielke Expert

I think one needs to consider if the word is part of the proper name. Seems to me that if the operators of a mine or quarry capitalize mine or quarry then we should as well. For example:

24th Jul 2015 21:01 UTCBecky Coulson 🌟 Expert

Reiner, I agree - in such cases, it is certainly a proper name, but my concern here is simply for consistency in our articles, etc. As it stands, we use capitals in some cases and lower case in others. I am especially interested in sites where "quarry" or "mine" are part of the site name, so that I can be consistent in correcting articles. I don't understand why the Chicago Manual writers would decide to change the name that site owners decide upon.

24th Jul 2015 21:14 UTCReiner Mielke Expert

Unfortunately it is not always as easy as that example. When the quarry is some day abandoned and not owned by Dufferin anymore do we then call the it the Flamboro Quarry quarry? Anyway I really think this is not worth worrying about. Does it really matter if it is Quarry or quarry? We all know what it means either way.

24th Jul 2015 23:44 UTCColin Robinson

Life is full of inconsistencies. Why waste what precious time you have worrying about them. As a retired printer/print lecturer I now wonder why I wasted years studiously following Hart's rules when, at the end of the day, all that really matters is that we understand each other. If you're going to get obsessive about something why not make it something that might actually benefit mankind.

25th Jul 2015 01:15 UTCChester S. Lemanski, Jr.

The answer is simple - this is the way our grand fuhbah Jolyon specifically wants it for this particular issue! There are several unique practices in Mindat content. Some are because the boss wants it that way, others are due to programming requirements (the use of a semicolon instead of a comma within an element of a locality name - especially between multiple alternate names; parentheses around the year of publication in a reference citation), and still others are employed to make interpretation of the data more easily achieved (using the format of given names or initials before the family name instead of after it as seen in some government literature [John B. Smith versus Smith, John B.]). Although some of these idiosynchracies may be arbitrary, the majority are purposeful and well thought out or otherwise required. I hope that this clarifies the issue.

The specific inconsistency used as an example of the confusion: While proofreading articles, I have noticed some inconsistency in the way site names are capitalized or not, e.g. "Seula mine" is not, but "Heights Quarry" is capitalized. is illustrative of a widespread problem found in any wiki site with a large database and many contributors - there are always contributors who either choose to ignore a format requirement, or simply haven't read the Mindat manual and aren't aware of it! In this example the "Seula mine" should be the "Seula Mine." This is why I post periodic reminders of the requirements for formatting entries in Mindat.

Thank you all for your interest in Mindat!!

Chet Lemanski

25th Jul 2015 03:12 UTCDouglas Merson 🌟 Expert

While not a naming issue, there is an inconsistency in the spacing after commas. Some have one space and others have 2 spaces. Interesting but not a major issue.

25th Jul 2015 05:53 UTCDavid Von Bargen Manager

That really is an issue and a possible program bug. I automatically cut out all additional spaces in the main locality name field. It would mess up the ordering of localities.

25th Jul 2015 08:38 UTCBecky Coulson 🌟 Expert

Thank you, Chet, for a helpful and non-aggressive answer - I will correct the articles according to Mindat style.

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