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I write this partly tongue-in-cheek, in the vein (or maybe the key) of
Friday...
It seems to me that "address" being taken to mean "fix" is a case of the
jargon chickens coming home to roost.
People used to call problems, bugs, etc, "problems," and "bugs," and we
"fixed" or "solved" them. But somewhere along the line, it was decided
that we can't admit to having "problems" or "bugs," so we started
calling them "issues." Or "opportunities," my *favorite*. (Ooh, where's
my sarcasm tag?) But you can't "fix" an issue, so we have to "address"
it instead.
So while we used to "fix bugs" and "solve problems," now we "address
issues."
A customer who, presented with a list of "issues to be addressed," may
be doing the wordmath in his or her head and thinking, "That must mean
they're going to fix this bug."
Just a thought...
- Madelyn, who is having issues this week.
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