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Subject:Re: Caution or Warning From:Jane Torpie <jstorpie -at- MA -dot- ULTRANET -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 31 Jul 1997 23:35:32 -0400
Vikki -
I'm an independent contractor/consultant currently working on a piece that
combines marketing communications and instructional design for a company
that produces networking hardware and software. The audience ranges from
hands-on technicians to hands-off technical salespeople.
When we discussed installation practices that their customers should avoid,
we used the terms "caution" and "warning" as Alexander Von_obert and
Jeffrey Pittman described in their posts. Why?
* The field technicians already know what these terms mean and will learn
the new material we're presenting more quickly if we can connect it to
their prior knowledge.
* The salespeople might not know the difference, and will probably never be
injured when installing network hardware, but they'll be able to speak the
language of their prospective customers.
Although I personally agree with another Techwhirler (I can't remember her
name) who prefers one word to the other, it's more important to know about
industry standards for safety terminology. This helped me meet the needs
of my client and their customers, and gave me credibility in front of my
client, too.
Finally, I should mention that I first learned about this standard from a
very talented technical editor who took the time to explain it to me. ;-)
Jane Torpie
jstorpie -at- ultranet -dot- com
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