Re: Pet Peeves

["Avram Baskin" <avrambaskin -at- comcast -dot- net>]

Sorry to jump in so late to this discussion, especially since the original 
topic (pet peeves) has morphed into other threads.

I agree with Dori.  I recently posted a questionnaire on TECHWR-L.  One of 
the questions asked if the respondent had a "rule of thumb" they followed to 
determine the optimal number of items for procedure steps or lists.  An 
early respondent replied with an explanation of the sexist connotation of 
"rule of thumb".  I did a little research and found some of the same 
"debunking" web sites that have been referenced in this discussion. 
However, I opted to change the question (I changed "rule of thumb" 
to"guideline") because right or wrong, it was clear that some people believe 
the term has a sexist connotation.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dori Green" <dgreen -at- associatedbrands -dot- com>
To: <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 12:16 PM
Subject: RE: Pet Peeves


> Many people seem to have missed the point that I was invited to list my 
> pet
> peeves; my pet peeves include the use of sexist and racist language by
> people who have hung out their shingles as knowing better.  I simply 
> pulled
> two simple examples from recent list posts and common usage.
>
> Phrases that are specifically listed in "how to avoid offensive language"
> texts because _anybody_ has identified them as offensive should be 
> avoided.
> As professional writers it might be a good idea to spend an hour or two 
> out
> of our lives reviewing such texts.
>
> As I stated with my first post, it is the receiver of the message who
> determines whether or not it is offensive.  If one person has said they
> don't like a phrase, I need to remove it from my lexicon and not argue 
> with
> them about the legitimacy of their feelings.
>
> I'm not personally offended by any particular phrases.  But I'm letting
> everybody know right now that I _was_ offended by several off-list flamers
> who got very excited about this thread.  I have blocked those folks from 
> any
> future attacks on my mailbox and I'll do the same to any others who behave
> that way.  If somebody doesn't like something I say or the way I say it,
> that's fine.  But play nice, sheesh.
>
> Dori Green
>
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