Re: Can software have human attributes?

[Christine -dot- Anameier -at- seagate -dot- com]

I don't have my Microsoft Manual of Style handy, but I'm pretty sure it
discourages anthropomorphism.

But there doesn't seem to be a consensus on where to draw the line. The
example you cited ("The program sits and waits for the next active result
in the queue") doesn't particularly offend me. For an end user document, I
would actually prefer it to the style guide's suggested rewrite ("The
program polls the queue for the next active result") because at least it
speaks the users' language. From the programmer's perspective, the program
polls the queue. From the user's perspective, the program sits and waits.

I would probably write "The program waits for the next active result . . ."

I would not write:
"The program kicks back and waits . . . "
"The program lights up a cigarette and waits . . . "
"The program patiently waits . . ."

...because (among other reasons) these versions attribute an attitude or
emotion to the software. But just "waits" would be acceptable, IMO.

Christine



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