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Re: Avoid the semicolon in tech writing? (Take II)
Subject:Re: Avoid the semicolon in tech writing? (Take II) From:"Chuck Martin" <cm -at- writeforyou -dot- com> To:techwr-l Date:Mon, 18 Aug 2003 13:46:45 -0700
"Hart, Geoff" <Geoff-H -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA> wrote in message news:209645 -at- techwr-l -dot- -dot- -dot-
<snip>
But neither should we treat our readers
> like idiots or avoid useful grammar and punctuation out of fear that our
> readers are idiots. Some of them undoubtedly are, but we're not writing
for
> them.
>
Loved the post, but can't agree with the last statement, at least not all
the time.
Soemtimes, we are writing for idiots. Or for users who are not well
educated. Or for users who are ignorant (not in general, but of a specific
product). Or for children. OR for...well, you get the point.
Knowing who we are writing for means that we can choose the best tools for
that writing job.
Having a full toolset and knowing how to use all the tools is one sign of a
mastery of the trade, as is knowing when not to use certain tools. But don't
throw away useful tools just because they aren't frequently needed.
