TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:'can not' vs 'cannot'... the rant cometh From:"Wright, Lynne" <lwright -at- positron911 -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Wed, 23 Feb 2005 16:33:05 -0500
eeeeeeeee!!!!!
Please allow me to fume about people whose expertise is not (or should
that be 'isnot'?) the English language, trying to tell writers how to
apply the language.
The type of people who use arguments such as "its a matter of personal
preference" are those who could never be bothered to learn to spell
properly, so they use that phrase to justify the fact that they are
ignorant of correct language usage and don't want to admit it.
To try to justify 'can not' with "'You can not enter a blank password'
means that you are able to not enter a blank password" is c-r-a-z-y. Its
such a tangle of double-negatives akin to saying "you can do this by not
doing nothing".
If these guys want authoritative proof that 'cannot' is correct, open
the DICTIONARY and show them that "cannot" is the word to use when you
can't do something. And by the way... the entry in Webster's doesn't
include "can not" as a variation... which it WOULD include, if it were
an acceptable usage. This is the beauty of a DICTIONARY... its compiled
by language EXPERTS doing rigorous research. IT is the primary guide to
words in the English language... not Microsoft's spell checker, and not
a pair of guys who have probably not opened a dictionary since they
first laid eyes on one and decided it was too heavy and bothersome to
use, so they'd just go with their "feelings" instead.
p.s. is it just a BIT obvious that i'm februarily homicidal????
WEBWORKS FINALDRAFT - EDIT AND REVIEW, REDEFINED
Accelerate the document lifecycle with full online discussions and unique feedback-management capabilities. Unlimited, efficient reviews for Word
and FrameMaker authors. Live, online demo: http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
Doc-To-Help 7.5 Professional: New version with new features, improved performance and reliability, plus much more! Download your free trial today at www.componentone.com/techwrlfeb.
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
