Q. I have noticed that many newly published books have no indentation for the first paragraph of chapters or sections of chapters. Is this now the accepted form or is this something some publishing companies use in their style forms?
A. It doesn’t seem to be new (in my 1965 Fowler’s Modern English Usage, for instance, all the first paragraphs begin flush left), and yes, it’s an accepted format. Often the indentation of opening paragraphs is decided by the book’s designer.