StudlyCaps (or perhaps
StUdLyCaPs, also known as
StickyCaps) is a variation of
CamelCase in which the individual letters in a word (or words) are capitalized and not capitalized, either at random or in some pattern.
Contents
[edit] History
According to the
Jargon File "ThE oRigiN and SigNificaNce of thIs pRacTicE iS oBscuRe."
[1] It appears to have been popularized among adolescent users during the
BBS and early
WWW eras of online culture, as a form of rebellion against the traditional rules of
capitalization. Unlike the use of all lowercase letters, which suggests laziness or efficiency as a motivation, StudlyCaps requires additional effort to type, either holding and releasing the Shift key with one hand while
hunting-and-pecking, or alternately pressing one Shift key or the other while
touch typing.[
citation needed] The iNiQUITY BBS software based on
Renegade had a feature to support this automatically.[
citation needed]
[edit] Use
It may perform a similar social function as the reduced legibility of the highly stylised script commonly used in
graffiti.[
citation needed] The overt defiance of rules distinguishes it from most forms of CamelCase which, despite their defiance of traditional typographic rules for language, are noteworthy for their adherence to authority-established standards specifying which letters are to be capitalized and which are not.[
citation needed]
[edit] See also