Re: Punctuation question

["CapDev Communications" <capdev -dot- communications -at- gmail -dot- com>]

I use the comma for informal correspondence and the colon for formal
correspondence.

My 2 cents.

Pat


On 11/2/07, Pinkham, Jim <Jim -dot- Pinkham -at- voith -dot- com> wrote:
>
> Back in the (Flint)Stone Age when I was in school learning these things,
> the rule was a comma was part of the greeting for informal letters and
> the colon was more appropriate for business letters, particularly if
> addressed to a recipient one did not know or know well (i.e., formal
> letters).
>
> This piqued my curiosity enough to do the following search:
> http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=salutation+comma+colon. Not
> surprisingly, based on our own dialogue here, some of the results bear
> me out; others do not. So it would seem to come down, as it so ofen
> does, to this: If you have a stylebook or house style, follow it. If
> not, choose an approach and be consistent.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+jim -dot- pinkham=voith -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+jim -dot- pinkham=voith -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
> Behalf Of John Hedtke
> Sent: Friday, November 02, 2007 7:11 AM
> To: Ron Wilbanks; Techwr-l
> Subject: Re: Punctuation question
>
> 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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-- 
Patricia Egan
P. O. Box 194391
San Francisco, CA 94119-4391
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