I am the webmaster/editor/curator for a website/e-magazine focussing on a game system. Reviews of scenarios published for the game system are a regular feature, and it’s frequently the case that a required add-on product will be named. Often, the add-on is well-enough known that the review author will often just refer to it by its initials (e.g., a product called Guns of the World might be referred to as “GotW”.
In the past, I've been less than entirely consistent in handling formatting in the magazine and on the website. I am starting to write a style guide for myself.
How should I handle these abbreviated titles? As I see it, my choices are:
- Expand the initials into the full title, and then format it as I would any title (italics, usually)
- Leave the initials as initials, but format them as I would the title (e.g., GotW)
- Do neither, leaving the initials as unformatted initials.
Which is most consistent with ‘normal’ practice?