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If I have already used $i,j,k$ as indices, and need two more, where should I look? $l,m$?, $m$? I know from my previous questions that I can use anything I want as long as I define it, but I use $n$ quite a bit, and it seems that using $m$ as an index could be confusing.

I have thought of using $s$ and $t$, or $s_i$ and $t_i$ which are the initials of the categorical variables over which I am indexing? I don't think that there would be a confusion between the use of $s$ in $\beta{_\text{style}}_s$ and the standard use of $s$ for standard deviation... but perhaps there is a more standard convention that will be more clear / intuitive?

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    If your indices all serve related purposes, maybe just $i_1, ... i_5$?2012-12-31

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It really depends on the context.

If you are indexing with ordinals, $\xi$ is a common index, so is $\alpha$.

On the other hand if you are using natural numbers to index, then $\ell$ and $s$ might be used in case you wish to avoid $n,m$ for as long as possible.

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If you have so many indices, why not start at the beginning of the alphabet and use $a,b,c,d,e,f,g$?

Some of those letters are considered "taken" but it might be clear from the context. $A,B,C,D,E,F,G$ and $\mathfrak{a,b,c,d,e,f,g}$ are also available.

It's probably clearer to use simpler letters rather than resorting to subscripts.

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    AsafKaragila I guess in answer to @Abe's question we could say it depends on the intended audience.2012-12-31