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Mike <<Read an interesting article in the local paper yesterday about the
growth of tech writing as an industry. The article more or less said that
tech writers are responsible for "poisoning" the American language. The
article also said that tech writers are "wishy-washy" and are "afraid to say
what really needs to be said.">>
"Poisoning" is a bit strong, given the other sources competing so strongly
to poison the language (TV, radio), but much though I hate to admit it, I
often have a lot of sympathy for the remainder of that attitude.
<<The author said that "documentation" is a "ludicrous" way of saying "user
guide,">>
Well, that depends; some documentation does nothing more than document what
is present, and provides little or no advice on use. That being the case,
calling it a "user guide" would be lying and the writers are actually being
honest by calling the drivel "documentation". <g>
<<and also offered other common terms associated with tech writing as being
"cowardly.">>
It would be interesting to hear the author's specific objections. Willing to
provide us with details?
--Geoff Hart, FERIC, Pointe-Claire, Quebec
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
"User's advocate" online monthly at
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"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that
English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words;
on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them
unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary."-- James D. Nicoll
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