Does a virgule go forward or backward?

Question

Or does it matter?

Answer 1

The Virgule

The virgule, often called the "slant bar" by computer users, has four specific uses in punctuation.


A virgule separates parts of an extended date.


Example: The 1994/95 basketball season.
Washington was born in February 1731/32.


A virgule represents the word per in measurements:


Example: 186,000 mi./sec. (miles per second)

A virgule stands for the word or in the expression and/or. (Though not considered standard, it sometimes stands for the word or in other expressions also.)


A virgule separates lines of poetry that are quoted in run-on fashion in the text. (For readability, avoid this with more than four lines.)


Example: Ann continued,"And up and down the people go,/ Gazing where the lilies blow/ Round an island there below,/ The island of Shalott."

Answer 2

A virgule, or solidus, is a forward slash (/). A backslash, or reverse solidus (\), is a completely different character.

Does it matter? Yes. The usage of the two characters is completely different. One is not a substitute for the other.