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Re: Acronyms & Abbreviations--Just Say NO!

Subject: Re: Acronyms & Abbreviations--Just Say NO!
From: Jan Henning <henning -at- r-l -dot- de>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 16:51:41 +0200


Acronyms are not a means of just making typing easier,
they are a means of quickly communicating info to
others. They are used in common speak. They are
perfectly valid.

Both Goober and Tom do have a point: Some acronyms are helpful in technical texts and others aren't, as their respective examples show.

A good rule of thumb seems to be to write acronyms when they would be spoken as well (and wouldn't be classified as colloquial). Thus "HTML" but "by the way", "DVD" but "as far as I can remember".

Always using the most common form like this minimizes possible confusion for the reader.

Regards
Jan Henning

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Re: Acronyms & Abbreviations--Just Say NO!: From: Goober Writer

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