Open forum question from JMay:

One more question regarding character caps. Of course, you always capitalize characters upon their first introduction. But it gets murky for me when capping groups. Sure you do it the first time, but what about subsequent times when the group might be different but is more or less the same? Think sports teams, a group of students in class, an army. So, for example, you cap the US ARMY in the first scene. Do you do it again, when you have a group of SOLDIERS that might be different?If you cap HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS at a party, do you do it again at a different party when the mix is presumably many of the same people but some new ones, too? Seems like overkill, but technically they are different characters that haven’t been introduced.

And we end this round of open forum questions with a straightforward one.
Let common sense be your guide.
If the group plays an important role in the scene…
Cap them.
Not so much by way of introduction…
But to alert the reader –
“Hey, take note of this group. They’ve got a critical role to play in this scene.”

If not…
They’re just background…
I wouldn’t cap them.

The thing is…
It’s important to be judicious in the use of caps.
They’re supposed to highlight IMPORTANT ELEMENTS in scene description.
USED TOO MUCH, they LOSE their IMPACT because THEN NOTHING IS SPECIAL.