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I have to disagree with Al and Dan. I think this topic is relevant to tech writing and wonderful fodder for a light-hearted Friday tech writing discussion.
We all have to include warnings that tell people to have common sense, and it can be annoying and frustrating knowing where to draw the line. This award and the article serve to help us laugh at what we know is ridiculous and maybe give us some hope that something can be done about it.
One standard caution in our documentation is:
CAUTION: The cutter blade is sharp. Do not touch or rub the blade with your fingers.
I want to end that second sentence with, "You moron!" Or maybe add, "If you have to be told not to touch the blade, you probably shouldn't be using this printer in the first place. Do not touch or rub the blade *again* with your remaining fingers." :-)
Anyone else care to share any favorite silly/ridiculous/obvious notes or cautions that they have been required to use in their tech writing?
Happy Friday!
Donna
Donna L. Jones
--------------------------------------
Technical Writer II
Zebra Technologies Corp.
Vernon Hills, IL
djones -at- zebra -dot- com
> -----Original Message-----
> Al Geist wrote:
> Sent: Friday, January 07, 2005 7:53 AM
> To: TECHWR-L
> Subject: Re: Toilet Brush Warning Wins Consumer Award
>
> I have to agree with Dan. While some have compared my
> writing to toilet
> brushes (mostly young SMEs that were being instructed by me in the
> difference between English and bloggese), this thread should
> either be
> limited to the Friday Follies or eliminated altogether.
>
> Al
>
> Goldstein, Dan wrote:
>
> > <>Toilet brushes, lawyers, and doctors. I respectfully
> suggest that this
> > thread is veering toward political and legal topics that
> are already well
> > served by other lists. If anyone on this list writes technical
> > material for
> > household cleaning products, perhaps they have a comment
> that is relevant
> > for TECHWR-L.
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