Capital letters can be
confusing. When should I
use them? When shouldn't
I use them?

Oh dear. Local advertisers and those who write public notices are using initial capitals all over the place, especially where they aren't needed, while those who love texting have just about stopped using them altogether.

Look at this advertisement.

    Trade Courses Online. Creative, Student Focused,
Varied, Comprehensive Instruction From Qualified and
  Experienced Teachers. Many Trades to Choose From.

Why all the unnecessary capitals? Are they for emphasis? Does the writer want to tell us that every word is very important?

Here's another. This notice was on a ferry. It had no punctuation at all.

Please Do Not Leave Personal Belongings Unattended
The Crew Will Not Accept Responsibility For
Any Loss Or Damage

What about:

Musicians
did you know?
You can Try, Buy
& Learn in the one Place!

What's wrong?

Unnecessary capitals. There are two sentences in this ad, and no personal names, so only two capitals are needed, one at the beginning of each sentence. A comma after Musicians would improve it too.

But some advertisers have gone to the opposite extreme, perhaps under the influence of texting. How about this one?

need insurance?
there are insurance experts just down the street.
us.
we're there for you.

Is the writer simply trying to be trendy? Trying to present something catchy? Trying to be independent? Trying to show that advertisers are above all the rules?

Wouldn't it make more sense to write:

Need insurance?
There are insurance experts just down the street.
Us!
We're there for you.

Do we need capitals for the following
items?

• Names of people    Yes
  Tom, Dick and Clementine, Mr Brown
   
• Names of places    Yes
  France, Victoria, Geraldton
   
• Names of groups of people    Yes
  French, Awabakal, Japanese
   
• Names of languages    Yes
  Indonesian, German, Mandarin
   
• Names of everyday things    No
  house, computer, cat
   
• Names of months and days    Yes
  August, Monday, Anzac Day
   
• Street and road names    Yes
  York Street, Oxley Highway, the name of your own street
   
• Special landmarks, buildings, etc    Yes
  The Sydney Harbour Bridge, The Eiffel Tower, The Great Barrier Reef
   
• Names of religions    Yes
  Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism
   
• Literature, music, art, films Yes and No Usually capitals for the first word and the main words, small letters for the rest. Perhaps the best advice for book titles is to follow what is printed on the title page, or the page near it which gives publication details. Authors sometimes make their own decisions on this matter, and sometimes the designer or typesetter may have some influence. Examples:
  The House at Pooh Corner, The Secret River, The Moonlight Sonata, The Times Atlas of the World.
   
• Initials of organisations    Yes
  RSPCA, UNICEF, AFL
   
• Official personal titles Yes and No
  Caps for main words, lower case for the rest.
  The Mayor of Hobart, The Prime Minister of Australia, Sir Walter Raleigh
   
• Scientific names of plants and animals Yes and No The generic (first) name always has a capital, the specific (second) name doesn't. Both are always in italics.
  Eucalyptus haemastoma, Mus musculum
   
• Names of people, places or trademarks that have become ordinary words   No
  biro, laptop, velcro, bandaid, vegemite
   
• Words we want to emphasise No, no, no In print, use bold or italics. In handwriting, underline.

Catchy advertising that deliberately mimics kids' handwriting and deliberately confuses caps and lower case letters doesn't help us! It doesn't help children either.