# Why Do We Capitalize The First Letter Of Words In Our Thread Titles? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 1, 2008, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-capitalize-the-first-letter-of-words-in-our-thread-titles/443513 "2008-04-01T12:16:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-capitalize-the-first-letter-of-words-in-our-thread-titles/443513/1 "2008-04-01T12:16:42Z")
Is it just good grammar? Custom? Other? I don’t have any criticism of this practice - I’m just curious why we do it. I’ve done it, and I’m not sure why. I guess book titles are customarily capitalized, but threads aren’t books. Are leading-caps thread titles more attention-grabbing? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-capitalize-the-first-letter-of-words-in-our-thread-titles/443513/2 "2008-04-01T12:19:29Z")
I think it looks crazy, and a trifle childish. But then I’m from the UK, where we tend to use sentence case for titles and headlines - though not for song or poem titles. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-capitalize-the-first-letter-of-words-in-our-thread-titles/443513/3 "2008-04-01T12:21:01Z")
I see them more as chapter titles than book titles. And you capitalised it wrong, it should be “Why Do We Capitalize the First Letter of Words in our Thread Titles?” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-capitalize-the-first-letter-of-words-in-our-thread-titles/443513/4 "2008-04-01T12:38:35Z")
[QUOTE=sandra\_nz] I see them more as chapter titles than book titles. And you capitalised it wrong, it should be “Why Do We Capitalize the First Letter of Words in our Thread Titles?” 😛 [/QUOTE] The working alternate title was “Why Do We Calipalize the First Letter of Most of the Words in our Thread Titles”, but as you can see that is sort of over the top. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-capitalize-the-first-letter-of-words-in-our-thread-titles/443513/5 "2008-04-01T12:39:17Z")
We don’t, do we? Glancing at what’s currently on page 1 of IMHO, this was the only one that had the words capitalized. ETA: As I look more closely, there are three threads that have the words capitalized. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-capitalize-the-first-letter-of-words-in-our-thread-titles/443513/6 "2008-04-01T12:40:37Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] I think it looks crazy, and a trifle childish. But then I’m from the UK, where we tend to use sentence case for titles and headlines - though not for song or poem titles. [/QUOTE] Is that just a UK thing? I tend to use sentence case too, I’m from the UK (sort of) ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-capitalize-the-first-letter-of-words-in-our-thread-titles/443513/7 "2008-04-01T12:48:13Z")
[QUOTE=Winston Smith] The working alternate title was “Why Do We Calipalize the First Letter of Most of the Words in our Thread Titles”, but as you can see that is sort of over the top. [/QUOTE] It’s not over the top, it’s factually correct, dammit! Pendantic? Moi? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-capitalize-the-first-letter-of-words-in-our-thread-titles/443513/8 "2008-04-01T12:51:32Z")
Just For The Record, If You Post Something Entirely In Caps, It Will Be Rendered Initial Case By The Board Software - Like This Post - This Explains Why Some Titles Are Like That. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-capitalize-the-first-letter-of-words-in-our-thread-titles/443513/9 "2008-04-01T12:58:26Z")
It’s just a stylistic decision. “Important” words in a title have their initial letter capitalised. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-capitalize-the-first-letter-of-words-in-our-thread-titles/443513/10 "2008-04-01T13:02:08Z")
I use title case for things which are titles. Such as the subject line of an email, and the title of a thread. That’s why it’s called “title case”. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-capitalize-the-first-letter-of-words-in-our-thread-titles/443513/11 "2008-04-01T13:11:06Z")
[QUOTE=Capt. Ridley’s Shooting Party] It’s just a stylistic decision. “Important” words in a title have their initial letter capitalised. [/QUOTE] That’s been a traditional style for a long time. I do find it funny when people occasionally capitalize important words in ordinary sentences (not titles); I call such instances “Pooh case” because Winnie the Pooh talks like that. Sailboat ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-capitalize-the-first-letter-of-words-in-our-thread-titles/443513/12 "2008-04-01T13:28:55Z")
[QUOTE=Sailboat] I call such instances “Pooh case” because Winnie the Pooh talks like that. [/quote] That’s because Winnie the Pooh is a Very Important Bear, a Bear of Unusual Talents, and Official Hunny Inspector. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-capitalize-the-first-letter-of-words-in-our-thread-titles/443513/13 "2008-04-01T20:09:40Z")
Actually, most of us don’t. Though I must say, there are plenty of Dopers who capitalize words more or less at random, both in their posts and in their thread titles. Maybe it’s their inner German struggling to break free. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-capitalize-the-first-letter-of-words-in-our-thread-titles/443513/14 "2008-04-01T20:45:37Z")
I thought people picked it up unconsciously from newspaper headlines. Although I was once told by a copy editor that most newspapers capitalize only the first word in their headlines. Doing It the Other Way, he told me, is considered pretentious. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-capitalize-the-first-letter-of-words-in-our-thread-titles/443513/15 "2008-04-01T20:56:34Z")
[QUOTE=Winston Smith] The working alternate title was “Why Do We Calipalize the First Letter of Most of the Words in our Thread Titles”, but as you can see that is sort of over the top. [/QUOTE] Well, duh. Most thread titles are over the ops of the actual threads. It would be silly to put them underneath. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-capitalize-the-first-letter-of-words-in-our-thread-titles/443513/16 "2008-04-01T22:43:50Z")
Calipalize? Is that done with calipers? How bad does it hurt? ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-capitalize-the-first-letter-of-words-in-our-thread-titles/443513/17 "2008-04-02T01:56:52Z")
[QUOTE=LSLGuy] I use title case for things which are titles. Such as the subject line of an email, and the title of a thread. That’s why it’s called “title case”. [/QUOTE] This is why I do it. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-capitalize-the-first-letter-of-words-in-our-thread-titles/443513/18 "2008-04-02T02:33:16Z")
I often capitalise words in a post that have some significance. I usually capitalise the word Mother or Father, for example, because that’s how I was taught. But most other people don’t, so sometimes it looks wrong, or even pretentious, when I do it. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-capitalize-the-first-letter-of-words-in-our-thread-titles/443513/19 "2008-04-02T02:52:52Z")
I think, as This is a Thread with literary Connotations, I shall move It to a different Forum. Moved from IMHO to CS. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-capitalize-the-first-letter-of-words-in-our-thread-titles/443513/20 "2008-04-02T03:40:55Z")
[QUOTE=LSLGuy] I use title case for things which are titles. Such as the subject line of an email, and the title of a thread. That’s why it’s called “title case”. [/QUOTE] Same. I don’t randomly capitalise words within my post - at least, not on purpose - but I use title case for, well, _titles_. That’s how I was taught; Canadian public schools, New Brunswick, 1984-1996. You’d lose marks if you handed in your essay with your title missing its proper title case. I treat most of my posts and e-mails like mini essays. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-capitalize-the-first-letter-of-words-in-our-thread-titles/443513.md?page=2)