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Regarding the "The system displays the dialog box" vs. "The dialog box
appears" debate:
Everything the system does, the system does. So there's little need to
repeatedly remind the user. So when a dialog box appears -- of course
the system put it there. It's no stretch to figure that out. If I
always attribute the system with all its actions, soon most sentences
begin with "The system". To avoid this, I obscure this actor in the most
common instances, and one of those is the display of prompts and/or windows.
Thus, "The dialog box appears." (It's also shorter.)
jim grey |beebeebumbleandthestingersmottthehoopleraycharlessingers
jwg -at- acd4 -dot- acd -dot- com |lonniemackandtwangandeddiehere'smyringwe'regoingsteadyta
Terre Haute, IN -- The Silicon Cornfield