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Re: Jargon Lovin' Fool

Subject: Re: Jargon Lovin' Fool
From: Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2001 12:03:52 -0700

Sandy Harris wrote:


I can think of no reason to write "start" instead of "boot" except possibly
if you're writing for a computer-illiterate audience.


Check the messages before Andrew renamed the thread. This was exactly what I was saying.

Even then, I'd suggest
using the standard term and adding an explanation thereof.


I might quibble over how standard "boot" is. English, after all, is full of synonyms.

But, more importantly, whether the term needed explaining depends on the purpose of the manual. If the manual is designed to educate people in computer use, then an explanation would be useful. However, if you're writing for data-entry clerks, whose sole interest is in getting the job done, and who couldn't care a pixel's width about learning more about the computer, then why would you bother? They certainly wouldn't appreciate the distraction. And, from their point of view, they'd be right.

--
Bruce Byfield 604.421.7177 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com

"In the ashes of American Jerusalem
The prophets live their deaths out on the corner
The pretty people say, 'There should have been a warning'
But nobody heard it."
-Rod MacDonald, "American Jerusalem"



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References:
Jargon Lovin' Fool: From: Andrew Plato
Re: Jargon Lovin' Fool: From: Sandy Harris

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