User:Rupert Clayton/Proposal for MOS:INSTITUTIONS

Capitalization for Board of Aldermen, etc.

Here's my proposal for a revision to MOS:INSTITUTIONS (changes in purple). I am very open to discussing the exact rules we're going to set, how to phrase them, and the choice of examples:

• Full names of institutions, organizations, companies, etc. are proper nouns and require capitals.

Correct	(proper noun):	Northern Ireland's Department of Justice was established in 2010.
Correct	(proper noun):	The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has 11 members.
Incorrect	(no caps for descriptive terms):	The Parliament of Iceland is called the Althing.
Correct	(descriptive):	The parliament of Iceland is called the Althing.

• Short names used to refer to a specific organization and consistently capitalized in reliable generalist sources should also be treated as a proper noun and capitalized. Use the full name instead if using a short name would lead to ambiguity, such as on first reference, or where there is another similarly named organization. Where a short term is merely descriptive, do not capitalize it.

Correct	(proper nouns):	The headquarters building of the U.S. Justice Department was designed by Milton Bennett Medary. The Justice Department's budget for Fiscal Year 2015 is approximately $21 billion.
Correct	(proper noun):	The Board of Supervisors has 11 members.
Incorrect	(ambiguous):	City leaders in Milwaukee and Chicago supported the initiative. The Common Council voted 10 to 5 in favor.
Correct	(use full name for clarity):	City leaders in Milwaukee and Chicago supported the initiative. The Milwaukee Common Council voted 10 to 5 in favor.
Incorrect	(don't capitalize descriptive terms):	In Tennessee the State Legislature has the power to decide a contested gubernatorial election.
Correct	(use lower case):	In Tennessee the state legislature has the power to decide a contested gubernatorial election.
Correct	(or the correct name):	In Tennessee the General Assembly has the power to decide a contested gubernatorial election.

• Common nouns used as short names for institutions, organizations, companies, etc. do not take capitals (university, college, hospital, high school) :

Incorrect	(don't capitalize common nouns):	The University offers programs in arts and sciences.
Correct	(use lower case):	The university offers programs in arts and sciences.
Correct	(or a proper noun):	The University of Delhi offers programs in arts and sciences.
Correct	(common noun):	The department's budget is approximately $21 billion..
Correct	(common noun):	The board has 11 members.
Correct	(common noun):	The council voted to declare February 29 a public holiday.

• Avoid ambiguous common nouns such as "city" or "state" to indicate a governing body. Write clearly to indicate the city council, the state legislature or the state government.
• The word the at the start of a title is uncapitalized, regardless of the institution's own usage (researchers at the Ohio State University not researchers at The Ohio State University).
• If you are not sure whether the English translation of a foreign name is exact or not, assume it is rough and use lower case (e.g., the French parliament).

• Political or geographical units such as cities, towns, and countries follow the same rules: As proper nouns they require capitals; but as generic words and rough descriptions (sometimes best omitted for simplicity) they do not.

Incorrect	(generic):	The City has a population of 55,000.
Correct	(generic):	The city has a population of 55,000.
Correct	(title):	The City of Smithville has a population of 55,000.
Correct	("city" omitted):	Smithville has a population of 55,000.
Exception	("City" used as proper name for the City of London):	In the medieval period, the City was the full extent of London.