[Taxacom] How important is italicisation, when writing taxon names on web pages?

[Erik Rijkers]

I believe the general recommendation is not so much to italicise, but to 
make sure the name 'stands out' from the surrounding text.

The Zoological Code [1] says
in Appendix B - General Recommendations:

"6. The scientific names of genus- or species-group taxa should be 
printed in a type-face (font) different from that used in the text"


That makes clear that for instance in a italicised paragraph, another 
style should be chosen (for instance, bold, or even regular).

So, if one wanted to avoid italicised text altogether for readability 
that seems still within that ZR recommendation -- just choose 'a 
type-face (font) different from that used in the text'.


Erik Rijkers



[1] https://www.iczn.org/the-code/the-code-online/




Op 01-11-2021 om 15:44 schreef Gerwin Kasperek via Taxacom:
> Not directly a justification that Italics for species names are 
> acceptable, but a recommendation on their use from relevant authority 
> will be found in the following book:
> Council of Science Editors (2014): "Scientific Style and Format - The 
> CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, Eighth Edition"
> https://www.scientificstyleandformat.org/Home.html
> 
> Regards
> Gerwin Kasperek
> 
> 
> 
> Quoting Andy Mabbett via Taxacom <taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>:
> 
>> I was always taught to write species, subspecies, and genus names in
>> italics, in print and online.
>>
>> Some time ago, I persuaded the Guardian newspaper to update their
>> style guide to include this [1] - something that they mostly, but not
>> always [2], do now.
>>
>> I recently asked the UK government to update their online style guide
>> similarly, and they refused, saying:
>>
>>
>> #~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#
>>
>> "A lot of the GOV.UK style guide decisions are based on:
>>
>>      * accessibility
>>      * evidence and user research into how people read online
>>
>> "For example, some evidence suggests that people with dyslexia find
>> italics difficult to read as it can make the text appear to run
>> together and cause crowding. It's important that GOV.UK content is
>> accessible to everyone, so you shouldn't see italics used across
>> GOV.UK.
>>
>> "However, our style guide isn't set in stone - with enough relevant
>> evidence and user-research we can take suggestions for updates to our
>> style team here. If you feel that you might be able to provide some
>> evidence to support a change, let us know and we can run it past our
>> team here."
>>
>> #~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#
>>
>> How important an issue do you think such italicisation is?
>>
>> Is it more important on pages about taxonomy than, say, news reporting
>> aimed at the general public?
>>
>> My understanding on accessibility is that italicised paragraphs or
>> long sentences should be avoided, but single words (for emphasis) or
>> species names, are OK. Can anyone give sources to support this? LInks
>> to prior discussion would also be welcome.
>>
>>
>> [1] https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-observer-style-guide-s
>>
>> [2] e.g. 
>> https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/oct/28/human-species-homo-bodoensis-who-lived-500000-years-ago-is-named 
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> Andy Mabbett
>> @pigsonthewing
>> http://pigsonthewing.org.uk
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