The only thing louder than an acronym in all caps is a bureaucrat using it to sound important.

The Traditional Rule:

Use capital letters for proper nouns, acronyms, titles, and important institutions. Acronyms must be capitalized. Some initialisms get dots. Others don’t. Sometimes they’re written in all caps, sometimes camelCase, sometimes lowercase for brands pretending to be edgy.

Why It’s Broken:
Because English capital letters are not just grammatical — they’re political, emotional, hierarchical. We capitalize what we want to honor, emphasize, or brand. And acronyms? A nightmare. Some are pronounced, some are spelled. Some are partly lowercase for “style,” others evolve into ordinary words. Meanwhile, style guides disagree wildly.

Absurdities and Contradictions:

• “NASA” is an acronym (pronounced as a word), but “FBI” is an initialism (spelled out).

• “USA” vs. “U.S.A.” — Punctuation optional, unless your editor cares.

• “iPhone” → Lowercase start. Mid-cap. Total chaos.

• “Covid-19” started as “COVID-19” → Then changed, mid-pandemic.

• “UNESCO” becomes a proper noun — we don’t expand it anymore.

• “GIF” → Soft “g” or hard “g”? Official creator said soft, but the internet revolted.

• “eBay,” “iTunes,” “YouTube” — They mock traditional rules entirely.

• “CEO of IBM” vs. “the president of the United States” — one is all caps, one is not. Why?

Real-World Headaches:

• Teachers take off points for lowercase acronyms.

• Job seekers capitalize everything on a résumé to look important.

• Writers aren’t sure if it’s “the internet” or “Internet” anymore.

• Capitalizing “Black” vs. “white” causes political debates — not grammatical ones.

• Do we write “AI” or “A.I.” or “ai”? Depends on how trendy we want to look.

British vs. American Variants:

• Americans tend to capitalize more for emphasis (Government, State, Constitution).

• British writing leans toward minimalist caps, even for “prime minister.”

• UK often omits dots in acronyms (e.g., UK, not U.K.).

• US spelling swings between AP, Chicago, and whatever Microsoft Word autocorrects.

The Reform Proposal:

1. Capitalize only proper names and official acronyms. Leave status out of it.

2. Eliminate dots in acronyms unless pronunciation requires clarity.

3. Use sentence-case for all titles, except names and official designations.

4. Treat acronyms like words once they’ve entered common speech. (E.g., “radar,” “laser,” “scuba” — all began as acronyms.)

How It Would Work in Practice:

• “The president of IBM, Jane Smith, met with NASA scientists.” ✅

• “He’s a ceo at a startup called yTech.” ✅

• “Covid-19 changed travel, just like SARS and MERS before it.” ✅

• “The school follows eu regulations on data protection.” ✅

• “The ai revolution is here.” ✅

• “Welcome to the future. Please scan your qr code.” ✅

Final Word: Cut the Capital Drama.
Capital letters should serve clarity, not hierarchy. Acronyms should simplify, not signal snobbery. Let’s stop shouting with caps and start writing with consistency. Status is for suits. Clarity is for readers.