Re: minimal does not equal minimalist and other comments

[Ray Bruman x2325 <rbruman -at- TURING -dot- RAYNET -dot- COM>]

 Fred Wersan <wersan -at- ZEUS -dot- MA30 -dot- BULL -dot- COM>
 writes:


 The stuff I'm writing lately is
> ending up mostly in Europe. Everything I've read indicates that we do our
> readers a disservice by using sentence fragments because leaving out pieces of
> the sentence may make it harder for people to read, especially those whose
> English is not so good.

> The difference in screen real estate between:
> Closes the current window.
> and
> The Close command closes the current window.
> is trivial. So don't make your decision based on how much space the construc-
> tion will take up. Make it on how well it will convey the information to the
> reader.


Hear, Hear!   I only wish thousands of other tech writers were so perceptive.

English is a peculiar language in which you can "verb" nouns (which Calvin
and Hobbes love to do) and switch grammatical roles with adjectives, adverbs,
et cetera.  Those little articles and "helping" words are ESSENTIAL.

And while I have my soap box, how would those bonehead bureaucrats at the FAA
(or wherever) like to puzzle out the following in Polish, Mandarin, or
<insert 2nd language of choice>  ...

"In the unlikely event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, oxygen masks
will be released from the overhead compartment.  Immediately extinguish all
smoking materials and bring your seat backs and tray tables to their full....."


Grrrrr.  <flame off>


Ray Bruman             Cogito, ergo remunerantur.
Raynet Corp.
rbruman -at- raynet -dot- com     I think, therefore I am paid.
415-688-2325