Re: Microsoft Manual of Style

[Tracy Boyington <tboyi -at- OKVOTECH -dot- ORG>]

> In the meantime, I would just try to avoid using the term in
> the plural if possible.

Reminds me of the farmer who read in the paper that he could get a
free mongoose from his county extension agent. The farmer decided he
wanted two of them, so he wrote a letter asking for "two mongooses."
That didn't look right, so he changed it to "two mongeese." That
didn't look right either, so he finally said "Would you please send
me a mongoose. And while you're at it, send me another one." :-)

I think "mice," though it might sound awkward or funny to some, isn't
nearly as awkward as "mouse devices." I don't see the logic
behind changing a typical non-standard-but-known-and-accepted English
plural just because it refers to something other than the brown
critter I saw in my kitchen this morning. Surely referring to more
than one mouse as "mice" is no sillier than calling the thing a
"mouse" in the first place.

And to Buck, who says nobody will be using a mouse in 10 years
anyway -- I hope you're wrong, because I'd rather stick hot needles
through my eye than be forced to use a trackball or touchpad or, God
forbid, one of those eraser-head thingies for the rest of my life.
It's enough to make me want to move back to DOS. :-P

Tracy

==========================================================
Tracy Boyington
tracy_boyington -at- okvotech -dot- org
Oklahoma Department of Vocational & Technical Education
Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA
http://www.okvotech.org/cimc/home.htm
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