Proper title usage

[TheHorizon]

I guess this won't lead to a whole lot of discussion, but a different thread title has got me wondering.

When a show title is usually printed on a graphic with an unusual character in/near the title, does that carry over to other mediums?

For example, a different thread about "Adult Swim" (a Cartoon Network based network thing) generally has brackets ("[]") around the title.
I believe it is the same with Scrubs (the Hospital humor/drama series on Comedy Central).

So I ask you, is it appropriate to include these things in things such as proper essays? Is it even appropriate to use it in text based communication such as forums?

 

[dstryfe]

Hrm...not quite sure about essays. I was under the impression that it was neccessary for them, but I may be wrong, as I haven't written one since grade 11 (3 years ago). I use them, though, when underlining isn't possible. I vaguely remember something about underlining titles, but it's been too long to be able to tell you.

 

[Cpt_Oblivious]

I use them unless I'm typing, when I use italics.

 

[Anachronism]

In the case of Scrubs, the brackets are, for whatever reason, a part of the logo. Like this:

I use them unless I'm typing, when I use italics.

If it's a handwritten essay, I usually underline titles of things, to be honest. Either that or put them between inverted commas. If you're typing, though, you don't need to use brackets; italics are the way to go.

 

[StarStruckStrumpets]

I use them unless I'm typing, when I use italics.

Me too pretty much.

 

[Stegofreak]

I believe that, in the case of Scrubs they are part of the logo while in [adult swim] they are part of the spelling. It's the same with a number of titles - Yu-Gi-Oh! for example has an exclamation mark as part of it's proper spelling.

 

[Zombie_Fish]

If it's for essays, I just underline the titles. You do need something to make the title stand out, but it doesn't have to be just "[]"