TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: help with a strong word From:Barry Kieffer <barry -dot- kieffer -at- EXGATE -dot- TEK -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 11 Aug 1999 09:25:10 -0700
Barry says: make the warring strong, but don't go overboard with profanity.
When you have Administrator rights to an Oracle database, it is with
trembling fingers that you type in the command: DROP TABLE.
Make the user know that what they do is final: "make a mistake and look for
another job in another field, like food service".
Good luck Kevin.
Regards,
Barry Kieffer
Not dropping or rolling back these days, just writing about it.
Kevin wrote:
> We have to document a dangerous software procedure, and want to come up
> with
> a title that will sufficiently frighten the user. Basically, this is a
> software application, and only the system administrator can perform this
> function, and he/she must do it VERY CAREFULLY.
>
> Something like "F---ing with the server" comes to mind, but is a little
> too
> strong and potentially offensive. Any suggestions?
>
> Yes, we must document this, and yes, there will be warnings all over it,
> but
> we need a title that clearly says "don't do this" without actually saying
> "don't do this."