TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
> they use double quotes around _dangerous voltage_. Since those
> two words are not a quote and not a special use of a technical
> term the quotes indicate to me irony as if it is not really
> "dangerous".
Oh, and this may help you justify the double quotes to yourself: It's
not necessarily just high voltage that kills people; it's a combination
of voltage and current, plus -- if it's AC -- the frequency... And
environmental factors figure into the probability of death, too.
Given that, "dangerous voltage" isn't an accurate description of the
scary stuff lurking inside the product, but the term is used anyway
because it makes perfect sense to non-technical users. If, instead of
"dangerous voltages", the text warned of uninsulated "bad mojo", you'd
put quotes around THAT...
-Andrew
=== Andrew Warren - awarren -at- synaptics -dot- com
=== Synaptics, Inc - Santa Clara, CA
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word features support for every major Help
format plus PDF, HTML and more. Flexible, precise, and efficient content
delivery. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l