RE: fwd: you or he/it

["Keith Hansen" <KRH -at- weiland-wfg -dot- com>]

Melissa wrote:
 
<<During writing I always slip into using "you" and have to go back and
change it to the user...I would rather be informal but alas..>>

Reminds me of a high school teacher I had who insisted that students
never use "you" in writing.  Instead, it always had to be "one."  So a
sentence like...

* You should never chew gum in class.
became...
* One should never chew gum in class.

Her theory was that the sentence does not refer to a specific individual
(you) but just a general, hypothetical person (one).  

That may be true, but it struck me as ridiculously archaic and pompous
sounding.  Bottom line: a rule that may have been generally accepted 100
years ago may only produce levity among readers today..  Today, it is
better to be informal and direct that formal and stilted.    

Keith
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