OOTS or OotS?

[rainbowjo]

My friend and I have been in a pointless argument for a few months now about weather the acronym for Order of the Stick is OOTS or OotS. I say that since The Giant refers to it as OOTS, that's what its called on the merchandise, and my copy of Start of Darkness says its trademarked as OOTS, that that is without question the correct way to use the acronym.

However, he is a grammar tyrant and a logaphile and swears up and down that the grammatically correct way is OotS, since that's the way the letters are capitalized when you write out Order of the Stick.

Basically, he thinks that the Giants creative license doesn't branch out as far to ignore certain 'rules of grammar', while I think that it trumps the grammar.

Can we get some other peoples opinions/clarification on this?

[spargel]

It all depends on how much you care about following the rules of grammar.

[xyzzy]

If I'm not mistaken, he said in one of the earliest threads that "OOTS" came about because it's easier to write; you don't have to let off the shift key. So one or the other probably isn't really wrong; it's a matter of preference.

[[TS] Shadow]

I usually use OotS; I'm a good typer (so it doesn't bother me to write it) and it just LOOKS better in my opinion. That said, I don't think it really matters; no matter which one you use they both mean the same thing.

[Olorin Maia]

I definitely prefer OotS. I don't like capitalizing of or the, even in abbreviations.

[Zeta Kai]

I prefer OotS as well, but I won't berate someone for using OOTS. Oots or oots is just wrong.

[Elfin]

I don't really have a strong inclination toward either one. I usually use OOTS, just because it's what The Giant does, but I'm prone to using OotS as well.

[B. Dandelion]

I'd say it's a presentational difference rather than a grammatical one - ORDER OF THE STICK versus Order of the Stick. Not Order Of The Stick, since that would obviously be wrong.

[John Cribati]

Grammatically speaking, you don't capitalize the words "is" "of" "the" "or" "and," or "but" in the title of a work, unless it's the first word of the title, so it would be OotS.
/nitpick

But whatever.

[UnChosenOne]

I too use OotS, as OOTS can give you impression that name is something other that Order of the Stick.

[Lissou]

Both are ok. He uses OOTS because it's simpler, so we know OOTS is accepted. However I can't imagine OotS being an "outlawed" way to write it. They're both fine, just use what you prefer.

[dps]

My friend and I have been in a pointless argument for a few months now about weather the acronym for Order of the Stick is OOTS or OotS. I say that since The Giant refers to it as OOTS, that's what its called on the merchandise, and my copy of Start of Darkness says its trademarked as OOTS, that that is without question the correct way to use the acronym.

If the all-caps version is trademarked, then you have to add (tm) after it it you type it that way: OOTS(tm). But if you can type it as OotS without violating the trademark.

[kpenguin]

OotS is my preferred acronym, but I'm fine with OOTS.

TOotS or TOOTS bugs me, though.

[AxeD]

I prefer OotS as well, but I won't berate someone for using OOTS. Oots or oots is just wrong.

yeah, me too. oots sounds like some dodgy SFX. OotS is pleasing to the eye.

[Ron Miel]

TOotS or TOOTS bugs me, though.

Sorry, but I prefer TOOTS. The title of the strip is THE Order of the Stick. If you miss out the initial 'the' from the acronym, you might as well miss out the other short words, and just call it OS.

[Surfing HalfOrc]

I prefer OotS because the Uppercase "O" followed by the Lowercase "o" looks like the larger/smaller eyes of most characters. Oo.

Plus, it's more grammatically correct! But the Grammar Police won't come along and drag you off to Grammar jail if you use the incorrect OOTS form, but they may if you use Oots or oots. :smallwink:

[Lissou]

Sorry, but I prefer TOOTS. The title of the strip is THE Order of the Stick. If you miss out the initial 'the' from the acronym, you might as well miss out the other short words, and just call it OS.

Omitting the first small word is standard for titles, though. That's what happens when they're sorted alphabetically (so you don't have half the books sorted a T for "the"), and acronyms tend to follow that.
It's not unique to oots. Look at "The Lord of the Rings" for instance. How often do you see it shortened as tLotR?

[Blacky the Blackball]

Grammatically speaking, you don't capitalize the words "is" "of" "the" "or" "and," or "but" in the title of a work, unless it's the first word of the title, so it would be OotS.
/nitpick

But whatever.

But, grammatically speaking, you do capitalise all letters in an acronym composed of individual letters; unless the acronym has passed into common usage as a word in its own right (such as "laser"), or when it has deliberately unusual typography so that it can be trademarked.

This happens even for such words as "and" that you don't capitalise in titles (e.g. SONAR - Sound Navigation and Ranging).

So it would either be "OS" or "O/S" (Order of the Stick) if the minor words aren't included or "OOTS" (Order of the Stick) if they are. In neither case would it be OotS, unless Richard Burlew made a conscious decision to use that typography in a logo that could be potentially trademarked.

[Nimrod's Son]

This happens even for such words as "and" that you don't capitalise in titles (e.g. SONAR - Sound Navigation and Ranging).
I think "SONAR" is a good example of how you can break any rule you want when you're making an acronym.

[Kobold-Bard]

It's OotS. There is no other option. Anyone who uses the other is wrong and should be beaten in the town square with a whip made of eggs.

Seriously though, either is fine :smallsmile:

[David Argall]

Now we might note that the strip features the MitD. So consistency seems to argue for OotS.

[spargel]

Does the strip itself actually call it the MitD anywhere?

[Trobby]

OotS is what I prefer, but it's really like picking between jam and jelly. Even if you pick the wrong one, it's still pretty darn tasty...

Mmm...jelly...

[Surprise!]

Omitting the first small word is standard for titles, though. That's what happens when they're sorted alphabetically (so you don't have half the books sorted a T for "the"), and acronyms tend to follow that.
It's not unique to oots. Look at "The Lord of the Rings" for instance. How often do you see it shortened as tLotR?

People still getting trolled by Ron?

[Tannhaeuser]

Ummm...no strong opinions about "OotS" -- but it is "logophile,"

[Cleverdan22]

The general consensus here seems to be OotS, which I write as well, and it is grammatically correct. If the Giant abbreviates it the other way, that's fine, but it doesn't prevent "OotS" from being correct. Also, I use it primarily because I think it looks better.

[Random832]

You could always go for small caps.

OᴏᴛS

That was using unicode since the forum doesn't do small fonts - it uses unicode small caps that some people may not have fonts for - simulation using more common characters: OoτS

[Manachu Boy]

OotS here, for reasons others have pointed out i.e. it being the correct captialisation for a title, not to mention the OOTS thing only really happens due to being a bit easier to type. Also note how it's written in the sidebar over there to the left. :)