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FWIW, I've always used a colon, regardless of content.
"Dear Ron:"
rather than
"Dear Ron,"
I know I picked this up at a very young age, but where or if it's
really correct, I couldn't say.
Yours truly,
John Hedtke
Author/Consultant/Contract Writer
www.hedtke.com <-- website
541-685-5000 (office landline)
541-554-2189 (cell)
john -at- hedtke -dot- com (primary email)
johnhedtke -at- aol -dot- com (secondary email)
At 01:39 AM 11/2/2007, Ron Wilbanks wrote:
>Over the years, I have always used a colon on the open salutation of
>any letter, both personal and formal. Lately, I have been receiving
>business letters that use a comma, rather than a colon addressed to
>my boss. Likewise, I also see the use of the comma becoming far
>more widespread than the colon in this area.
>
>Has the rules of writing changed, and now favor the comma for a
>salutation, or is the colon still the rule? My boss, who is 54
>years-old, uses the comma all the time, as does his 19 year-old daughter.
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