Janice R. Walker (jwalker@chuma.cas.usf.edu)
Department of English
University of South Florida
4202 East Fowler Avenue, CPR 107
Tampa, FL 33620-5550
January, 1995 (Rev. 01/99)
Vers. 1.3

COS-Humanities Style

(MLA-Style Citations of Electronic Sources)

Endorsed by the Alliance for Computers & Writing

The basic component of the reference citation I have compiled is simple:1
Author's Last Name, First Name.  "Title of Document."
Title of Complete Work [if applicable].
Version or File Number [if applicable]. Document
date or date of last revision [if different from
access date]. Protocol and address, access path
or directories (date of access).
The pages that follow give specific examples, following this format. Please bear in mind, however, that, like the Internet itself, the information sources are in a constant state of flux and, therefore, this work will also need to change as the sites the mselves proliferate and adapt to the new era of electronic print.


 
 

STYLE SHEET

(Endorsed by the Alliance for Computers & Writing)

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) Sites

To cite files available for downloading via ftp, give the author's name (if known), last name first; the full title (of a shorter work in quotation marks; of a larger work, in italics); and the document date (if available). Next, give the protocol (i.e., "ftp") and the full FTP address, including the full path needed to access the file. Last, list the date of access, enclosed in parentheses. 
Johnson-Eilola, Johndan.  "Little Machines:  
Rearticulating Hypertext Users." 3 Dec. 1994.
ftp://ftp.daedalus.com/pub/CCCC95/johnson-eilola
(14 Aug 1996).

WWW Sites (World Wide Web) (Available via Lynx, Netscape, Other Web Browsers)

To cite files available on the WWW, give the author's name, last name first (if known); the full title of the work, in quotation marks; the title of the complete work (if applicable), in italics; any version or file numbers; and the date of the documen t or last revision (if available). Next, list the protocol (e.g., "http") and the full URL, followed by the date of access in parentheses. 
Burka, Lauren P.  "A Hypertext History of Multi-User
Dimensions." MUD History. 1993.
http://www.utopia.com/talent/lpb/muddex/essay
(2 Aug. 1996).

Telnet Sites (Sites and Files available via the telnet protocol)

List the author's name or alias, last name first (if known); the title of the work (if applicable), in quotation marks; the title of the full work or telnet site (if applicable), in italics; the date of publication or creation (if known); and finally t he protocol (i.e., "telnet") and complete telnet address, any directions necessary to access the publication, and the date of the visit, enclosed in parentheses. Separate commands from the address with a single blank space. 
traci (#377).  "DaedalusMOO Purpose Statement."  WriteWell.  
telnet://moo.daedalus.com:7777 help purpose (30 Apr.
1996).

Synchronous Communications (MOOs, MUDs, IRC, etc.)

Give the name of the speaker(s) and type of communication (i.e., Personal Interview), the address if applicable and the date in parentheses.

Include the name or alias of the author or speaker (if known); the type of communication (i.e., "Personal interview") or, for synchronous conferences, the session title (if applicable), enclosed in quotation marks; the site title (if applicab le), in italics; the protocol and address, including any paths or directories, the command sequence (if applicable), and, in parentheses, the date of the conversation. 

Kiwi.  "Playing the Jester Is Hard Work."  DaMOO.
telnet://damoo.csun.edu:7777 (4 Dec. 1996).

GOPHER Sites (Information available via gopher search protocols)

List the author's name (if known), last name first; the title of the paper or file, enclosed in quotation marks; the title of the complete work (if applicable), in italics; and the date of publication (if known), including any previous publication info rmation (if applicable). Include the protocol (i.e., "gopher"), the address, the gopher search path or directories followed to access the information (if applicable), and, in parentheses, the date the file was accessed (if applicable). 
African National Congress.  "Human Rights Update 
for Week No. 10 from 5/3/96 to 11/3/97."
gopher://gopher.anc.org.za:70/00/hrc/1997/hrup97.10
(1 Jan. 1998).

Email, Listserv, and Newsgroup Citations

Cite the author's name (if known) or the author's email or login name (the part of the email address before the @ sign), followed by the subject line of the posting, enclosed in quotation marks; the date of the message if different from the date access ed; and the name of the discussion list (if applicable), in italics. Next, give the address of the list, or the protocol and address of the newsgroup, followed by the date accessed in parentheses. 
Crump, Eric.  "Re: Preserving Writing."  Alliance
for Computers and Writing Listserv. acw-l@
unicorn.acs.ttu.edu (31 Mar. 1995).

Electronic Publications and Online Databases

List the author's name, last name first (if known); the title of the article, in quotation marks; and the title of the software publication, in italics. Next, list any version or edition numbers or other identifying information, the series name (if ap plicable), and the date of publication. Finally, cite the name of the database (if applicable) and the name of the online service--both in italics--or the Internet protocol and address, any other publication information, the directory path followed (if a pplicable), and, in parentheses, the date accessed. 
Warren, Christopher.  "Working to Ensure a 
Secure and Comprehensive Peace in the Middle
East." U.S. Dept. of State Dispatch 7:14,
1 Apr. 1996. FastDoc. OCLC. File
#9606273898 (12 Aug. 1996).

Software Programs and Video Games

Cite the name of the author or corporate author (if available); the title of the software program, in italics; the version number (if applicable and if not included in the software title); and the publication information, including the date of publicat ion (if known). 
ID Software.  The Ultimate Doom.  New York:
GT Interactive Software, 1995.
1Margins and line breaks on examples have been forced to simulate hanging indents in print, while trying to preserve margins for various sized browser windows. For a more complete discussion of citation formats for both humanities styles and author-date styles, including in-text citations and specific examples, see the Columbia Guide to Online Style by Janice R. Walker and Todd Taylor (1998).

For more information on finding and using electronic sources, see the Longman English Pages

 For information on citing sources in the text using parenthetic notations, see http://www.cas.usf.edu/english/walker/parenthetic.html

Versions of this Style Sheet have also been included by permission in the following texts: SEE ALSO: APA Style
© J. Walker 1995, 1996, 1997.

Please contact the author for permission to link to or copy the material presented herein. Thank you.
J. Walker