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Subject:Re: Should vs. Will, Must and Can From:Tom Murrell <trmurrell -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 3 Jan 2002 07:45:56 -0800 (PST)
--- Jane Carnall <jane -dot- carnall -at- digitalbridges -dot- com> wrote:
> I've noticed while proofreading Javadoc that at least one of the developers
> has a habit of phrasing notes (to the end-users, who are developers external
> to this company) with "should":
[SNIP]
> However, the developer in question has said before that he thinks it's nicer
> to say "should" than "must". Is there a nice way to say that I think it's
> better to be clear than nice?
It's my opinion that we ain't here to be nice; we're here to pass on important
information to the people who need it. Things that 'must' be available or
'must' be done in a certain order or manner need to be clearly described to
readers. Things that 'will' occur, I usually phrase in the present tense, as
in, "Once the elephant enters the glade, it eats the zebra." Where two or more
choices exist for the reader, these can be delineated by 'can,' as in "The user
can choose any of the five items on the list." If, however, at least one of the
items 'must' be chosen, I would prefer to tell the reader that in no uncertain
terms. Using should implies that the requirement is not absolute, and I would
consider that bad writing.
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