Re: Use of "and/or"

[Lou Quillio <public -at- quillio -dot- com>]

ethanreese -at- hotmail -dot- com wrote:

> I guess it's one of those things that is best avoided if it's
> excessively wordy, pompous, or confusing, and used judiciously if
> it's the best option for preventing confusion.

As Geoff Hart says, nobody's gonna die from 'and/or'.  If you need it or
can't fight it, use it.  But the and/or people are very greedy zombies.
They'll strew these speed bumps all over the text, then move on to
grander assaults.  More is more.

Here's a parlor game.  Do a Google query on "and/or"

http://www.google.com/search?q=%22and%2For%22

Scan the results.  Most of the snippets will have the 'and/or' instance
highlighted.

With no effort you can see that nearly all of them call for 'and' or 'or'.

I don't think we have to eradicate 'and/or', just suppress it.
Aggressively.  Forever.

LQ


-- 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Lou Quillio
Box 459, Cambridge, NY USA 12816-1143
http://quillio.com/
http://stc-techvalley.org/
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

WEBWORKS FINALDRAFT - EDIT AND REVIEW, REDEFINED
Accelerate the document lifecycle with full online discussions and unique feedback-management capabilities. Unlimited, efficient reviews for Word
and FrameMaker authors. Live, online demo:
http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l

Your Ad Here! Have a product or service you'd like to get some attention for? Use this space to get the word out! Contact lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com for more details.

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.