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I usually see Joomla's name with its exclamation mark Joomla!

And I have seen many people using it each time they refer to Joomla.

But is it really necessary?

Especially in cases where the sentence is a question and ends with the word Joomla (and a question mark), it is really awkward!

Example: Joomla!?

Is there a standard for this? or should we just write it without the exclamation mark and make that the standard?

NOTE: Even at Joomla's site they refer to it with and without the exclamation mark, so I'm even more confused.

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    I thought the same, I'm not sure if forcing the exclamation mark as a good way, because someone has to edit "every" question ;-)
    – Harald Leithner
    Commented Apr 23, 2014 at 8:58
  • I personally think that the exclamation adds to brand recognition. Will we maybe be able to add a space at the end when Joomla! is the last word in a question, eg. Joomla! ??
    – chesedo
    Commented Apr 23, 2014 at 9:32
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    Hah. Actually, the title of this site should be "Joomla! meta" according to the branding rules :) From memory you only have to ! the first instance of "Joomla" on the page. Thereafter it can be just "Joomla". That rule might have changed since I last looked at it though.
    – Andrew Eddie
    Commented Apr 23, 2014 at 12:30
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    Not really, I mean if you are here to get help with it, you know what Joomla is and you won't suddenly think you are in a wrong place or discussing the wrong software because a ! is missing. For wiki or community reference, then yes proper formatting should be observed. Also when they finally make a logo or image for this site, it should honor it in there as well, otherwise in common discussion, too much hassle to worry about it and won't take away from anything.
    – user85
    Commented Apr 23, 2014 at 23:22

4 Answers 4

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When referring to it on meta and the stackexchange site, it should't be necessary. Purely due to the fact that people coming on this site will know exactly what Joomla is, therefore the exclamation mark at the is is simply pointless. I think including it in the except/site description would be a good idea for branding purposes.

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  • I just had a situation where the exclamation confused the way I read the question, and I say we get rid of it when used in text and in the context of this site (unless it is the brand of course, in a logotype for example).
    – jackJoe
    Commented Apr 25, 2014 at 9:56
  • That was related to the component Joomla! Update. A very well known component to anyone using Joomla. Unfortunately, that is the name of the component. Don't use the ! anywhere else.
    – sovainfo
    Commented Apr 25, 2014 at 14:14
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It depends.

If you are using the Joomla logo, then yes you do need to include the exclamation (as well as the other rules dictated by the official Joomla! Brand Manual).

If you are referring to Joomla in a text discussion, then the answer is no, you don't have to use the exclamation.

The usage of the exclamation in text for the first instance of the word Joomla! in a sentence or paragraph is by convention only and is not dictated by the official Joomla! Brand Manual.

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I think the official usage is to have the exclamation mark for the first appearance of Joomla! in an article. It's the official name of Joomla. Following mentionings don't need it anymore.

So the site would have to be named Joomla! Answers (or similar) for sure. As for the questions and answers. I don't think it matters. I wouldn't edit it.

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  • Yes that has been the official decision for a little over 5 years. It was a real bear to get used to when they first started the Joomla Magazine!
    – Toni Marie
    Commented Apr 28, 2014 at 4:37
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Funny you should ask as we have been working on updating the style guide.

Our registered trademark does have the Bang (!) and for improved branding recognition, The Joomla! Project does ask that you use it in prominent locations such as headings and in graphics. We agree that the bang gets cumbersome in text.

If you are writing for JCM, the editors are pretty strict about using the bang whenever practical. It is not practical if there is any other punctuation needed like a question mark or a comma.

In general, we have adopted the approach that in body text the bang should be used at least once at or near the first instance in a way that acknowledges it as a trademark, which means with the bang and the circle-R indicia in superscript. Refer to Joomla!® like this the first time and then to Joomla with or without the bang and without the indicia from then on.

There is an exception. There are a number of other trademarks and service marks associated with The Joomla! Project and we do ask that you ALWAYS use use the bang and capitalize the initials when the word Joomla is part of a proper name for a product or service such as the Joomla! Community Magazine, the Joomla! Framework or the recent release of Joomla! 3.3 last month. In these instances it is helpful to add the superscript TM indicia the first time a product or service name appears on a page.

Do not use the bang in keywords, SEF URLs / aliases or other places where search in third party websites or the ability to resolve the URL will be thrown off by the punctuation, such as in Linked-In.

Of course, these are guidelines, and the branding police will not be knocking at your door, but whatever you can do to consistently support our trademarks and keep them distinctive benefits everyone.

Thanks for asking, Duke

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