screen voltage

Subject: screen voltage
From: mpriestley -at- VNET -dot- IBM -dot- COM
Date: Thu, 3 Feb 1994 13:28:24 EST

Len Olszewski writes:
>John P. Eldard wants to replace a word:

>> What would you use in the following example to replace "indicated"?
>>
>> Measure voltage at test point indicated on computer screen.

>Eliminate it.

>"Measure voltage using the test point on the computer screen."

>No charge.

Hm - call me paranoid, but I have an image of the user doggedly poking the
voltmeter at the screen in a futile attempt to comply.

Come to think of it, a really bloody-minded user could choose to interpret
the first sentence that way too, but I still think there is a semantic
difference worth preserving between "shown on the screen" and "on the screen".

I have no objection to eliding in principle, but concision shouldn't be
achieved at the price of clarity (though like I said, perhaps I'm just
being paranoid).

Michael Priestley
mpriestley -at- vnet -dot- ibm -dot- com
Information Developer
IBM Canada
Disclaimer: Me not IBM.


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