: Is emphasizing a point by underlining still appropriate? Instinctively I find underlining for emphasis distracting and much prefer bold or italic. From my research it seems underlining is a carryover

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No, no, no, hell no, frak no, can I get a no from the peanut gallery? oh, and NO.

We are not typing on typewriters any more. We are using computers. Word processors, HTML, CSS. Underlining means a hyperlink. Period. If you want to emphasize something, use bold, italics, indents, all caps, or any combination thereof.

The only exception is certain legalese, if the lawyers insist on underlining for some archaic reason which gives formatting weight in court. Still annoying, but there's no arguing with Legal.

If you are not dealing with lawyers, then change the underlines to italics as a matter of course. If the writers object, tell them, "But in typesetting, when something is underlined in the manuscript, that's what it means. It's telling the typesetter 'italicize this.'" Brook no arguments.

(Sorry. I am a writer, editor, and typesetter, and seeing underlined non-hyperlinked copy makes my blood pressure rise.)

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I think underlining for emphasizing is a little bit old-fashioned. But if you write for an audience which is used to it, why not?

If you want to publish your writing online, I would advice against underlining. On the internet underlined text is associated with a link. If you do not really have a good reason to break this convention (and emphasizing isn't one, if you ask me), then do not do it.

Mixing different styles (bold, italic, underlining) is confusing at best for the reader. Is the italic section less important than the bold? Does underlining strengthen more than bold? Is the not emphasized text necessary at all?

The last sentence isn't a joke. I've seen whole paragraphs underlined in some writings, wondering why they have written the non-underlined at all. If they had skipped these, they could have skipped the underlining also.

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As an answer to your original question, yes it is still appropriate, especially in certain business settings. As to how you should respond to it or handle it, that depends on your situation.

First, ask yourself why your colleagues prefer underlining. Is it because they are older and have done it this way for a considerable amount of time? Is it a preferred standard in your current environment (work, school, etc.)?

Second, ask yourself how important it is to persuade them to change. If there isn't any underlying reason to do it this way, then you might be able to suggest an alternative. Check to see if there are any documented guidelines that might support either method. If so, then use them to help you decide.

Personally, I find bold font to sometimes be harsh, especially in a business setting. At my workplace, bold is usually interpreted as a sign of anger or frustration and is used very sparingly. Italics tend to be the preferred choice here. (I rarely see underlining used as a point of emphasis.)

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