I reject the periods.

"Someone really wanted our name to say SHIELD."

I'm just going by the name of the TV show [link] One can spell it how one wants, but it is only correct one way.

I'm pretty sure neither the Chicago Manual of Style or AP style would use the periods -- we don't anymore for things like USPS, etc.

Then again, the asterisks in M*A*S*H stuck around all those years.

It's been a whole style guide fooferah. What about initialisms? What about M*A*S*H? What about the right of the internet to express itself any way it damn well wants?

What about the right of the internet to express itself any way it damn well wants?

As a denizen of Tumblr and a Tag Wrangler on AO3, I'm going to say that there's not a power in the 'verse that can stop the Internet from expressing itself any way it damn well wants.

What about the right of the internet to express itself any way it damn well wants?

If we don't stop them now...

Oh, fuck.

I'm pretty sure neither the Chicago Manual of Style or AP style would use the periods -- we don't anymore for things like USPS, etc.

If the USPS had branded themselves U.S.P.S., Chicago or AP wouldn't care?

Punctuation isn't really part of a name unless it's a trademark. The USPS styles itself as the United States Post Office (its official name) -- USPS is just an abbreviation, and the different style guides outline how to deal with punctuating (and capitalizing, etc.) abbreviations like that.

The showrunners can style it however they want, in the end, but it's going to depend on individual media outlets when it comes to how it's actually used. And there's no guarantee they'll all agree, either.

For typesetting purposes, which doesn't really matter anymore, S.H.I.E.L.D. is a lot of extra characters. And it's also a pain in the ass to type!

The USPS styles itself as the United States Post Office (its official name)

The postal service calls themselves the USPS with some kind of registered/trade mark I can't read at this magnification all over their website, so they might not be the best example for style guides overriding the organisation's wishes.

It just seems weird to not call a show the show's name, especially in these advanced technological days of search and replace.

The punctuation doesn't change the name, though. Not in my opinion, anyway. And honestly, like Consuela, if I'm writing about it, I'm not typing out all those periods.

But you can!