Re: To use or not to use the term "WYSIWIG"?
I'm getting flack from a QA person here for using the acronym "WYSIWIG"<snip>
(i.e., "what you see is what you get") in a manual draft. He dislikes that
it's so slang-y sounding.
I chose to include the term in the manual because it conveys in just one
word the concept I'm trying to get across -- that the way the thing looks
when it prints is pretty much the way it looks on the screen. Yeah, I
included the longer verbal explanation as well. But as I said, to those
"in the know", the acronym works as an immediately understood one-word
explanation for the concept.
What do you all think? Is it too casual and jargony a term to use in a
technical manual?
Well, as other people haev mentioned, the answer to your last question is: It depends. As in, it depends on your audience.
But there's another factor. Is it truly WYSIWYG? Or is it really WYSIAWYG (What You See Is Almost What You Get)? You yourself said that it prints "pretty much" the way it looks.
I have no issue, depending on curcumstances, including "WYSIWYG" on various documents. Of course, defining it properly is important, and for some audiences, I might even provide a pronunciation (whiz-ee-wig), but if WYSIWYG isn't really WYSIWYG, I'd avoid it.
--
--
Chuck Martin
User Assistance & Experience Engineer
twriter "at" sonic "dot" net www.writeforyou.com
"I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me.
The day may come when the courage of Men fail, when we forsake our
friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day!
This day, we fight!"
- Aragorn
"All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given you."
- Gandalf
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