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Subject:Re: Use of Second Person From:Karen Mayer <Karen_Mayer -dot- TOUCH_TECHNOLOGY -at- NOTES -dot- COMPUSERVE -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 12 Dec 1995 11:13:28 EST
Personally, I find use of the second person acceptable, often desirable,
as long as it's not overdone. I once had to edit a user guide written by
the developer that was littered with you and your. It was a mess:
To install your copy of Our Software, insert your copy of the diskette
into your floppy disk drive, type A: or B: and press Return.
I don't mind if it's used sparingly, because we are at any time giving
instructions/information to a single individual. If I can say it clearly
and concisely without using the second person, I will -- as long as it
doesn't detract from the flow of the sentence. Some people insist on
using some neutral reference to the reader, such as "the user," even when
it's awkward:
If the user selected option B in step one and the user is using a widget,
the user must glorf the schmirf.
Not me, no way, uh-uh. The second person flows better, makes the sentence
easier to read and improves clarity. I can't see any reason not to use
it.
