Re: Can software have human attributes?

[Janice Gelb <janiceg -at- marvin -dot- eng -dot- sun -dot- com>]

Diane Backus <DBackus -at- DocByDesign -dot- com> wrote:
>
> A corporate style guide reads:
> "Avoid attributing human actions to inanimate objects, particularly
> software. Example: Instead of 'The program sits and waits for the next
> active result in the queue', write 'The program polls the queue for the next
> active result.'"

> Several developers have disagreed with this since the style guide was
> published. What is the general acceptance level for attributing human
> actions to software? If anyone can cite a source (Microsoft style, perhaps),
> that would be helpful.
>

Sun's style guide also discourages anthropomorphisms: they 
encourage the reader to think that the computer can make 
decisions beyond what they are programmed to do. However, 
we do allow slight anthropomorphisms that help the reader 
understand computer activity by comparing it to behavior 
a person might do: the system "listening" to a network, 
for example.

I think "sits and waits" might be right on the edge for 
me, especially the "sits" part. OTOH, I don't think 
anyone would disagree that the following (which I saw  
in a manual that I edited) definitely crosses the line:

"These hardware drivers must be aware of the restrictions 
on page 237."

Not only did the drivers have to be self-aware, they also 
had to be able to read and turn pages :->

-- Janice

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