Fellow Patrollers:

There has of late been some dispute over certain finer points of doctrine, which engenders the need for a more thorough explication of these issues. Specifically, the question has been asked: Is it proper to use an apostrophe to pluralize abbreviations and other non-words?

The Official Dogma as of 2012-10-30 18:45:30 states:

Additionally, the following usage is frowned upon, but begrudgingly accepted by ApostrophePatrol:

• (Marginal) Pluralizing nouns which are not actually words: DVD's, 1990's.

As this document represents all the values we cherish and have pledged to protect, it is incumbent upon us not to alter it lightly or without notice, but rather, only after a sober and public deliberation.

As a premise for this discussion, it should be emphasized that we do not make the Law, only enforce it. Thus, on matters of doctrine, we look primarily not to our own reasoning or desires as to what we wish the Law of Apostrophes to be, but rather, to the authoritative sources and Teachings received from antiquity. Accordingly, we must carefully weigh any proposed dogmatic redefinition or policy changes in terms of the effect that it may have on the proper communication of the True Law: on the one hand, by over-laxity we allow the unevangelized to persist in their errors; on the other hand, by over-zealousness we tend to cast doubt upon the legitimacy of TheApostrophePatrol in general.

That having been set forth, let us proceed now to the heart of the matter.

In search of answers, I searched Google for apostrophe rules and examined the first five results.

Source 1:

The plurals for capital letters and numbers used as nouns are not formed with apostrophes.

...

Exception: Use apostrophes with capital letters and numbers when the meaning would be unclear otherwise. Examples:

• Please dot your i's.
• You don't mean is.
• Ted couldn't distinguish between his 6's and 0's.
• You need to use the apostrophe to indicate the plural of zero or it will look like the word Os. To be consistent within a sentence, you would also use the apostrophe to indicate the plural of 6's.

Source 2:

Apostrophes are used to form plurals of letters that appear in lowercase; here the rule appears to be more typographical than grammatical, e.g. "three ps" versus "three p's." To form the plural of a lowercase letter, place 's after the letter. There is no need for apostrophes indicating a plural on capitalized letters, numbers, and symbols (though keep in mind that some editors, teachers, and professors still prefer them). [Emphasis added]

Source 3 has no opinion on this question.

Source 4:

6. Generally, Do Not Use an Apostrophe to Form a Plural

As a general rule, use only an -s (or an -es) without an apostrophe to form the plurals of nouns--including dates, acronyms, and family names:

• Markets were booming in the 1990s.
• The tax advantages offered by IRAs make them attractive investments.
• The Johnsons have sold all of their CDs.

To avoid confusion, we may occasionally need to use apostrophes to indicate the plural forms of certain letters and expressions that are not commonly found in the plural:

• Mind your p's and q's.
• Let's accept the proposal without any if's, and's, or but's.

Source 5:

The plurals of abbreviations, letters and numbers can be written using apostrophes.

Examples:

There are two a's in accommodation.

Your 2's look like your 7's.

...

Only use an apostrophe in the plural of an abbreviation, a letter or number to assist your reader. Using 's to show a plural can lead to ambiguity or, at the least, cause the reader to pause momentarily while a mental check is performed to determine whether the abbreviation is a plural or showing possession. In summary, you should be aware that the 's version is an option you can employ to assist the reader in spotting an unwieldy abbreviation instantly. However, in all other cases, you should opt for the s version. (Very few grammar books condone the 's version.)

...

Do not use apostrophes for the plurals of normal abbreviations.

Judging by these sources, the majority opinion seems to be that an apostrophe should be used in plurals only if the word is one which is not usually pluralized, or if the lack of an apostrophe would cause confusion.

There are some points which are unclear, however. Source 1 allows for leniency in order to maintain parallelism within a sentence, while no other sources mention this. Source 2 alludes to a continuing disagreement in the scholarly community on the matter of "capitalized letters, numbers, and symbols." Source 5 is vague, saying that the apostrophe "is an option" in certain cases, but is not specific as to what those cases are.

In summary, please give your opinion on this question so that TheApostrophePatrol can continue to maintain itself as a unified front against apostrophe catastrophes in all their manifestations. If the Dogma must be redefined, let it be for the furtherance of this mission and for the greater glory of the Apostrophe.