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Subject:Jargon From:Stuart Burnfield <slb -at- FS -dot- COM -dot- AU> Date:Wed, 30 Aug 1995 12:26:09 +0800
"Treason doth not prosper. What's the reason?
Why, if it prosper, none dare call it treason."
Jargon doth not prosper, for the same reason. Special terms used for the
benefit of the reader are a good and a necessary thing. Special terms
used for the convenience of the writer are a bad thing. The special
term we have for the latter practice is 'jargon'.
When I write badly, it's for one of the following reasons:
1) I'm feeling tired/lazy/not in the mood/can't concentrate
2) I'm trying to disguise the fact that I'm not really sure what I'm
talking about.
Jargon is a neat 'workaround' (as we say in the software business) for
both problems. However, when I rediscover examples of my bad writing,
I still have to fix them properly because I can't bear knowing they're
there.
Regards
---
Stuart Burnfield (slb -at- fs -dot- com -dot- au) Voice: +61 9 328 8288
Functional Software Fax: +61 9 328 8616
PO Box 192
Leederville, Western Australia, 6903
