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.
Subject:Re: Help with fake names issue From:<laura_johnson -at- agilent -dot- com> To:<techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Thu, 29 Mar 2012 11:17:54 -0600
It depends on what you're trying to illustrate, of course, but I'd think it would be easiest to understand the examples if you use words that are identifiably first and last names. As counterexamples, if it's not blindingly obvious from the context, I won't know whether "Paint" is the first name and "Many Colors" the last name, or the other way round. Same goes for "Pink Patient" (or was it "Patient Pink"?). Using only first names won't work if you're trying to illustrate the use of an application wherein you expect the data to include last names.
My name is "Laura Johnson". It's a common enough name that I wouldn't blink if I saw it on a training slide, and it's pretty obvious which is the given name and which the family name. My preference for this sort of thing would be to use common names - Jane Brown, Bob Smith - or historical names, like George Washington and Betsy Ross - just so that the words are actually identifiable as names. I guarantee you that people with names like that are accustomed to seeing them so used, and I hereby give you permission to use mine.
regards,
Laura Johnson
Learning Products Engineer
Agilent Technologies
Loveland, Colorado
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help. Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need.
Try Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days.
