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.
Chris Kowalchuk wrote:
>
> ... My favourite example is
> from a road sign I saw in Wales. The road ran through unfenced pasture.
> The sign said:
>
> "Sheep have no road sense."
>
> No "slow down" or "drive carefully", just a statement of fact.
From Eastern Canada: sign at the crest of a hill, just before the highway goes
down a long grade and, as it levels out, becomes the main street of a small town:
Please drive carefully. We have no hospital.
Methinks such warnings are extremely effective.
In documentation, one sometimes sees things like this (approximate) quote from
the K&R C manual:
Uninitialized local variables are guaranteed to contain garbage.
I am inclined to write such things and sometimes take flack for it from folk
who consider either the bluntness or the levity 'unprofessional'. I consider
anyone who thinks that clueless.