[comp.dcom.sys.cisco] capitalizing cisco

xopr123@mot.com (Michael 'Ninja Raccoon' Lind) (09/29/90)

Re: John Cottriel's comment on capitalization:

> my only problem with cisco is that I'm not sure if I'm supposed to
> capitalize their name when it appears at the beginning of a sentence.

I have also wondered about whether to capitalize cisco at the beginning
of a sentence.  I don't recall any grammar rules that say that a
sentence begins with anything other than a capital.  Even nouns that
are not proper nouns are capitalized at the beginning of a sentence.
Example: Trees have leaves.  

When writing vendor and product names, I always try to type them in
the case the company uses.  (Superscripts and subscripts and special
characters are tough with only an ASCII set!).  When I don't know
what to do, I strive for consistency (the hobgoblin of little minds).
Unless cisco finds some reason why we should change a capitalization
rule, I propose that we capitalize cisco at the beginning of a
sentence.

Cisco, (and everyone else), what do you think?

Michael Lind
mlind@mot.com

alan@curta.cc.columbia.edu (Alan Crosswell) (09/29/90)

i guess you've never read any e.e. cummings.
/a

jbs@FENCHURCH.MIT.EDU (Jeffrey Siegal) (09/30/90)

I vaguely recall that the correct English treatment is:

	[C]isco has requested that its name never be capitalized.

That being ugly (and perhaps incorrect), the best alternative may well
be to avoid using "cisco" at the beginning of a sentence (this being
similar to the best way to avoid the use of "he" or "his" as the
generic singular pronoun--recast the sentence in the plaural)

Jeffrey Siegal

wenker@poplar.cray.com (Joe Wenker) (09/30/90)

> Unless cisco finds some reason why we should change a capitalization
> rule, I propose that we capitalize cisco at the beginning of a
> sentence.

	I believe that cisco has already broken/changed the capitalization 
rules by naming the company "cisco".  I'll always break whatever "rule" that 
might exist and continue to type "cisco" no matter where it lies in the sentence.
   

If everyone adopts this style I may have to change how I do things just to 
continue the spirit of "cisco".

Joe

mikes%tektronix.tek.com@RELAY.CS.NET (Mike Skrydlak -- Tektronix Network Services) (10/07/90)

It's obvious. Cisco (or should I say cisco) should change the name to Fran.

Then we'll all be able to sleep at night, once again.

FRAM OIL FILTERS, & FRAN ROUTERS.      ;-)

neil@kitty.ksu.ksu.edu (Neil Erdwien) (11/01/90)

In cicso corporation's annual report, the word cisco is capitalized
when it appears at the start of a sentence.  So cisco has blessed 
capitaization in this case.


--
Neil Erdwien
Kansas State University
neil@ksuvm.ksu.edu