Contact the editorial office

Where to write

Letters may be addressed to the editorial office at the postal address given in the footer of every page of this reference. The office reads all correspondence, but it cannot answer questions about the operation of particular equipment, and it does not provide consulting on any commercial matter. A correction that quotes the sheet and the paragraph is the most useful kind of message, because it can be checked against the source material at once.

Message form

What happens next

When the form is sent, your browser moves to a confirmation page and the message is directed to the editorial office for reading. No account is created, and no record is kept beyond the message itself. If a correction is accepted, it is entered into the next revision of the affected sheet, and the title block of that sheet advances by one.

Please be specific. A message that names the sheet, quotes the sentence and states the correction is far easier to act upon than a general remark, and it can be verified without a further exchange of letters.

Kinds of message the office welcomes

The office is glad to receive four broad kinds of correspondence. The first is a correction of fact: a figure that does not agree with the standard, or a sentence that states a rule in a way the source material does not support. The second is a request for clarity: a paragraph that a reader has had to read three times, or a diagram whose meaning was not plain at first sight. The third is a suggestion of a subject that the reference has not yet treated and that belongs within its scope. The fourth is a note about a fault in a page, such as a broken link between two sheets.

By contrast, the office cannot help with questions that lie outside its subject. It does not advise on the operation of equipment, it does not discuss commercial matters, and it does not comment on the merits of one manufacturer over another. A message that asks for such advice will be read, but the reply, if there is one, will say plainly that the question falls outside the reference and point the reader toward the standard or the body that can answer it.

How to write a useful correction

A correction travels furthest when it is precise. Name the sheet by its number and its title. Quote the sentence as it stands. Then state what it should say, and if possible say which clause of which standard supports the change. A reviewer who can check the claim without hunting through the whole reference can act on it in a single sitting, and the affected sheet can be corrected in the very next revision. A vague note, however well meant, usually waits until a reviewer has the leisure to reconstruct the reader's train of thought.

Where several figures are affected, list them together rather than sending one message for each. A single well-organised note is easier to work through than a sequence of short ones, and it reduces the chance that a later item is overlooked while an earlier one is being checked.

Postal correspondence

A reader who prefers to write by post may use the address printed in the footer of every page. Postal letters are read less often than messages that arrive through the form, because the office reviews them in batches, but every letter is opened and every letter that names a sheet is considered in the same way as a message sent electronically.