Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2023 March 7

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March 7

Captioning order when multiple visual elements are not aligned

(Not sure if non-linguistic style guide questions are on-topic for RD/L, feel free to move if needed.)

Consider a group of visual elements arranged in a non-linear fashion. Those elements could be separate images in a newspaper or Wikipedia article, or persons in a group photograph with two rows of people. For instance, consider six elements in two rows:

$${\begin{bmatrix}A_{1}&B_{1}&C_{1}\\A_{2}&B_{2}&C_{2}\end{bmatrix}}$$

There are (at least?) three common conventions to caption that group:

1. specify all positions: top-left A1, top-middle B1, etc.
2. reading order: from left to right and top to bottom: A1, B1, C1, A2, B2, C2
3. clock order: clockwise from top left: A1, B1, C1, C2, B2, A2

When option 1 is impractical, my (anecdotal) experience is that US media (maybe all English-speaking media?) uses almost always option 3, whereas French-speaking media uses almost always option 2. Judging from this help desk question I wager that option 3 is not common in Italian-speaking media either (the question was asked by JackkBrown who self-identifies as a native Italian speaker).

Is my impression correct?

Is that discussed in sources such as style guides? I could find a few US style guides that mention the clock order in passing (example) but none that discusses alternative options. A search for "caption order multiple images" and similar things does not yield good results (much of it has to do with how to produce certain arrangements of the pictures with various software products, but my question is about why, not how). Tigraan^{Click here for my talk page ("private" contact)} 16:05, 7 March 2023 (UTC)

Hi, the Canadian Press style guide also goes with 2. ("List people in a group shot from the left, and specify position (left or front row, second from right)."). It doesn't mention any alternative and doesn't specify the why, but it does say this about the general principles: "Captions are always written in the present tense. They tell the reader, briefly and clearly, the basic details of the picture and tie it to the story it illustrates. Remember that photos attract even the most casual reader, so captions are probably the most-read words in the paper or web page, after headlines. Like headlines, captions must be crisp. Like stories, they must be readable and informative, interesting and lively." That sounds like they feel left-to-right is most readable and clear. 70.67.193.176 (talk) 16:46, 7 March 2023 (UTC)

As I interpret this rule from the Canadian Press style guide, given

$${\begin{bmatrix}A_{1}~~&~~B_{1}&~~C_{1}\\~~A_{2}&B_{2}~~&C_{2}~~\end{bmatrix}},$$

they'd go with $A_{1}$ (top row), $A_{2}$ (bottom row), $B_{2}$ (bottom row), $B_{1}$ (top row), $C_{2}$ (bottom row), $C_{1}$ (top row).  --Lambiam 22:30, 7 March 2023 (UTC)

In a photograph of people in two rows, where the more important people are generally at the front, I would go for a fourth option: front row, left to right, then back row, left to right. A2, B2, C2, A1, B1, C1. MinorProphet (talk) 15:06, 10 March 2023 (UTC)