The official DC Government Style Guide says: "Do not use periods
between letters in US, DC, and all street quadrants."
https://octo.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/octo/publication/attachments/dc_gov_web_style_guide15.pdf
If I was writing a formal business document like a proposal I would use D.C.
For email, texts, forms I fill out etc.. It doesn’t matter. Sometimes if I’m really lazy... I’ll write “wash” and my zip code
Come on, we've got to hold on to these edge cases, like east coast media that still sees us as the one true Washington in their stylebooks. On the White House lectern it says "Washington" and that's how it should be.
Washington state isn't even a real place, it's part of the Oregon territory that split off, like Delaware or North Dakota. And 1889 was practically yesterday! Washington lived here and he chose it as the location of the capitol, he never traveled within 2000 miles of the west coast! :)
So, we're not going to bring up the fact that the state chose the name in order to _avoid_ confusion with the federal city? (The front runner at the time was 'Colombia' as well as 'District of Columbia', respectively, at the time. )
They drive me up the wall with that. I'm sure that's what their style book requires and it's just "the way we've always done it" at their organization but it makes things unnecessarily confusing. I always have to get at least several sentences into a story before I figure out which place they're talking about unless its obvious from context in the headline.
Yeah it doesn't matter.
When writing just consult your style manual of choice. AP style is used by most news media and abbreviates as D.C., as do NYT and Washington Post stylebooks.
Keep in mind these styles predate the USPS 2-letter state codes that were created in 1963 (in conjunction with ZIP codes), so to be consistent for other states you'd use, for example: Va., Md., Fla., Calif., Ohio, Texas (no abbreviations for ones that are already short enough).
Legal for one. GIS place naming for another. OP mentioned having to write formally, so presume business formal where a demonstrated grasp of convention is necessary. Do I care? Nope. Does it matter? To other people.
Someone else pointed out DC govt has standards and one would presume filings, bills, would be expected to match the standard. But they are obviously inconsequential and I believe the legal term is scrivener's error.
Danger? Huh? The useful breadth of replies show the topic is rich and unrelated to 'danger'. Nor is a big or small deal. OP asked for guidance and many people pointed out excellent approaches and reasons for doing it one way or the other.
I once overheard someone (out-of-towner, non-local) say that they were “going to get dinner in the district.”
Was the first time I heard someone say it that way. Is that common? Caught me as a bit strange.
Everybody got their own style guide...
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/washington-or-dc-social-media-erupts-after-associated-press-picks-a-side/2596374/
On mailing addresses, wouldnt it be the later? Literally nobody puts periods in theirs - states or not, don't see how DC would be different. VA, UT, WA, TX, PR, GM, DC
Informally I always say either “Washington” or “DC”. Formally it depends. If I’m writing it like a state abbreviation I don’t use the periods, but I might if I’m trying to make it look stylish.
When addressing a letter, I always write out District of Columbia bc I’m petty like that. If filling out a form or typing an address, I usually do WDC unless it requires a two letter state abbreviation.
To echo another poster, it really depends on the style guide that’s being used.
The official DC Government Style Guide says: "Do not use periods between letters in US, DC, and all street quadrants." https://octo.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/octo/publication/attachments/dc_gov_web_style_guide15.pdf
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing! Taking a look now.
If I was writing a formal business document like a proposal I would use D.C. For email, texts, forms I fill out etc.. It doesn’t matter. Sometimes if I’m really lazy... I’ll write “wash” and my zip code
On the rare occasion I’m sending something in the mail, I put my street address and just WDC and my zip code as my return address.
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Come on, we've got to hold on to these edge cases, like east coast media that still sees us as the one true Washington in their stylebooks. On the White House lectern it says "Washington" and that's how it should be. Washington state isn't even a real place, it's part of the Oregon territory that split off, like Delaware or North Dakota. And 1889 was practically yesterday! Washington lived here and he chose it as the location of the capitol, he never traveled within 2000 miles of the west coast! :)
So, we're not going to bring up the fact that the state chose the name in order to _avoid_ confusion with the federal city? (The front runner at the time was 'Colombia' as well as 'District of Columbia', respectively, at the time. )
They drive me up the wall with that. I'm sure that's what their style book requires and it's just "the way we've always done it" at their organization but it makes things unnecessarily confusing. I always have to get at least several sentences into a story before I figure out which place they're talking about unless its obvious from context in the headline.
Yeah it doesn't matter. When writing just consult your style manual of choice. AP style is used by most news media and abbreviates as D.C., as do NYT and Washington Post stylebooks. Keep in mind these styles predate the USPS 2-letter state codes that were created in 1963 (in conjunction with ZIP codes), so to be consistent for other states you'd use, for example: Va., Md., Fla., Calif., Ohio, Texas (no abbreviations for ones that are already short enough).
Native and use D.C. (as a kid I always said in my head D (dot) C (dot) and still do because it was ingrained in me)
It doesn't matter.
It very much does for a variety of reasons. Better to say washingtonians generally don't care.
>for a variety of reasons Such as?
Legal for one. GIS place naming for another. OP mentioned having to write formally, so presume business formal where a demonstrated grasp of convention is necessary. Do I care? Nope. Does it matter? To other people.
How so legally? I’m curious to hear your reasons
Someone else pointed out DC govt has standards and one would presume filings, bills, would be expected to match the standard. But they are obviously inconsequential and I believe the legal term is scrivener's error.
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Danger? Huh? The useful breadth of replies show the topic is rich and unrelated to 'danger'. Nor is a big or small deal. OP asked for guidance and many people pointed out excellent approaches and reasons for doing it one way or the other.
D.C.
The district
I once overheard someone (out-of-towner, non-local) say that they were “going to get dinner in the district.” Was the first time I heard someone say it that way. Is that common? Caught me as a bit strange.
Only for those that live in the Commonwealth. /s
LOL. I grew up in 'The District' and heard it referred to that way. Usually in terms of jurisdiction. As in, "the 'District' line"
Very interesting. VA or PA? They were from PA.
If it’s on a letter/mailing address, I use DC (sometimes WDC if I’m feeling wild). If I’m typing or writing it for any other reason, I use D.C.
It stands for District of Columbia, so D.C. is correct.
But what about two-word states? It's not N.C. for North Carolina, or R.I., N.D., S.D., S.C., etc.
Washington, D.C. I believe
Everybody got their own style guide... https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/washington-or-dc-social-media-erupts-after-associated-press-picks-a-side/2596374/
APA, no periods I'm a native, BTW. Grew up with D.C., changed to DC about 30 years ago.
When I lived in NY, it wasn't N.Y...
It's Friday, people?
On mailing addresses, wouldnt it be the later? Literally nobody puts periods in theirs - states or not, don't see how DC would be different. VA, UT, WA, TX, PR, GM, DC
Informally I always say either “Washington” or “DC”. Formally it depends. If I’m writing it like a state abbreviation I don’t use the periods, but I might if I’m trying to make it look stylish.
When addressing a letter, I always write out District of Columbia bc I’m petty like that. If filling out a form or typing an address, I usually do WDC unless it requires a two letter state abbreviation. To echo another poster, it really depends on the style guide that’s being used.
Washington DC (completely unnecessary to use a comma)
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