Re: that vs who

["Gene Kim-Eng" <techwr -at- genek -dot- com>]

This is one of those times when "correct" and "accepted" usages are used 
interchangeably.  Grade school grammar lessons teach that "who" should be used 
when discussing individual people and "that" when discussing groups of people, 
non-humans or inanimate objects, but the rule has been commonly disregarded 
throughout almost the entire history of the English language.  You will find 
examples of "that" being used to describe a person in works by Chaucer, 
Shakespeare, Dickens, etc.  If my audience included a lot of academics I would 
be careful about my own usage and that of others, but otherwise I wouldn't get 
into a fight over it with anyone.

It's also one of those discussions that should be carefully limited to people in 
the profession and not carried out in the presence of outsiders, in order to 
avoid adding to the already common general perception that the technical writers 
get bogged down in trivialities that nobody else cares about.

Gene Kim-Eng


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Peter Neilson" <neilson -at- windstream -dot- net>
> "Any user >who< desires good results follows the instructions carefully."
>
> "Any user >that< desires good results follows the instructions carefully."
>
> I encounter both of these constructions in everyday use, and have the
> feeling that "who" is the correct usage. What accounts for the use of
> "that" in referring to people? Is there a rule that confirms my
> preference for "who" or one (of which I'm unaware) that prescribes "that"?

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