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What sounds better than "as-is", but means the same?
Subject:What sounds better than "as-is", but means the same? From:Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca> To:TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>, mlist -at- safenet-inc -dot- com Date:Fri, 21 Apr 2006 16:35:03 -0400
Kevin wonders: <<A local manager just requested that I update the
Customer Release Notes for one product to say that a certain add-in
that we just grab and include for convenience (like apache, but not) is
provided "as-is". But she wants me to say it in a nicer fashion. Well,
I can get wordy and say that we provide it as a courtesy, but it is
untested by us and was not put through formal integration for this
release of our product.>>
The question to ask is always "what are we trying to accomplish with
this wording?" There is a legal meaning to "as is" that I'd hesitate to
use without knowing more of the legalities, so the best bet is "to get
wordy", as you put it. If the explanation you provided above is
correct, just come right out and say it.
If you really need to whitewash it and make it sound gentler, say
something like the following: "[Product name] is provided courtesy of
[Company name]. All support for this product is provided [at the
company's Web site (URL) / telephone number / anonymous Swiss Bank
Account / whatever]." In short, tell them where to go <ahem> if they
need help with this unsupported product.
Better still, since my proposed wording makes [Company Name] actively
complicit in any problems, and they may not actually want to be tagged
with having provided the product to you, it's probably safer to _not_
include the product with your own software, and simply add a note about
where they can download it if they need it. That way, you're not on the
hook because you didn't provide the software--the user took
responsibility by downloading it and accepting the other company's
licensing agreement.
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