[Author Prev][Author Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
[Author Index (this month)][Thread Index (this month)][Top of Archive]

Re: Naming NAME fields (was RE: Coordinating Field Defs and Procedura l Info

Subject: Re: Naming NAME fields (was RE: Coordinating Field Defs and Procedura l Info
From: Janice Gelb <janice -dot- gelb -at- sun -dot- com>
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Date: Thu, 09 Nov 2006 13:51:19 +1100

mlist -at- safenet-inc -dot- com wrote:


The above exchange raised a hackle or two, not directly related to the thread (so I changed the thread name).

Given the number of Chinese and other ethnicities that might be using your product, wouldn't it be better to differentiate names by "Family Name" and "Given Name(s)" instead of the rather provincial "First Name" "Last Name"?


That would depend on what that number is, wouldn't it?
And also what the number of people is who are likely to
be using the product who are used to Western naming
conventions even if they are not Westerners.

Even if you were to resort to guessing, I'd guess that
the percentage of non-Westerners confused by the common
Western terminology FirstName/Last Name, especially when
presented in English language forms or dialog boxes, is
less than or equal to the percentage of Westerners who
would be confused by the less common terminology Family
Name/Given Name. And that percentage for non-Westerners
probably goes down even further if the product in
question is related to somewhat advanced technology.

>
> How well do you react when somebody phones saying:
> "I'd like to speak to Mr. Dan, please"?
>

About the same way I reacted when an admin at my company's
branch in Bangalore, India, sent an email message that
addressed me as "Mr. Janice" -- that some cultural glitch
had occurred that could be relatively easily straightened
out.

-- Janice

***********************************************************
Janice Gelb | The only connection Sun has with
janice -dot- gelb -at- sun -dot- com | this message is the return address
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

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

Easily create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to any popular Help file format or printed documentation. Learn more at http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- infoinfocus -dot- com -dot-
To unsubscribe send a blank email to techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40infoinfocus.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.

Follow-Ups:

References:
Naming NAME fields (was RE: Coordinating Field Defs and Procedura l Info: From: mlist

Previous by Author: Re: Coordinating Field Defs and Procedural Info
Next by Author: Re: 5 Users in a Room
Previous by Thread: Re: Naming NAME fields (was RE: Coordinating Field Defs and Procedura l Info
Next by Thread: RE: Naming NAME fields (was RE: Coordinating Field Defs and Procedura l Info

[Top of Archive] | [Author Index (this month)] | [Thread Index (this month)]

What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:

Sponsored Ads