That’s fine for informal writing. That’s how TCS Daily handles online citation, for example. But in scholarly works, one wants to be able to, at a glance, see who is being cited, what the date was, etc. Having to click through the links takes much more time.

Interesting. Though, I have seen a hypertext version of that kind of citation, wherein the citation material (time, date, page, etc. ) 'pops' when you roll over the link. Seems an interesting compromise.

and that strikes me as important, going forward, because..., while you point out, correctly, that...

... it’s not exactly easy to click the link from a dead tree journal, anyway.

... I don't see that being a consideration, for much longer. The technology seems to have changed how we deal with such matters, already, in terms of how such writings are generated.... What has not caught up, is how such matters are read.

What I'm suggesting, is that it probably won't be long before some accommodation is given even in formal writings, to a technology that exists, today.

Interestingly, the ones who are the first to get over that reluctance to deal with that particular issue, are the ones who are going to set the standards.

But I have been waiting anxiously, for nearly an equal time, for elementary school science books to wake up to the fact that there are more than three states of matter! Even when I was a kid, plasma was known. Now, with the Bose-Einstein state, and I gather perhaps another one or two, I think we can take the risk of confusing kids until they learn it right. Why wait until university?

A consensus seems to be forming to italicize book titles as well as periodical names, whether magazines, academic journals, or newspapers. There's still some variation, though.

I do think it important to cite the date on which an on-line resource was accessed, however, as links do break or otherwise change. At least one can use one of the 'way back machines' to check the citation as of the date.

I tend to put blog names in quotation marks when I'm writing for paper or not hyperlinking to the site. I treat blogs more like magazines than books. I can shift that to italics if some sort of consensus evolves.

The computer has long since obviated that rationale, though.

Especially with programs like "Endnote" which not only auto-formats to any of the major citation schemes, but it will also get the cite directly from a web-connected database so you NEVER have to type in a citation!

It is really awesome software. Im not sure how it treats blogs, though.

Probably. Plus, I was taught Chicago (actually, Turabian) as an undergrad and prefer its detail.

I didn't enjoy having to actually TYPE footnotes, however, back in the days before word processing. Indeed, parenthetical cites came about, I'm sure, because of that difficulty. The computer has long since obviated that rationale, though.

That's fine for informal writing. That's how TCS Daily handles online citation, for example. But in scholarly works, one wants to be able to, at a glance, see who is being cited, what the date was, etc. Having to click through the links takes much more time.

And it's not exactly easy to click the link from a dead tree journal, anyway. And the URL would be meaningless in most cases, especially for those blogs whose archiving style does not involve post titles but rather appends a number or some such.

I despise parenthetical citations, which not only disrupt the flow of the words but give too little information to easily verify that it actually says what it’s purported to say.

This must be some subconscious reaction to reading all the exciting AJPS and APSR articles in grad school.