Re: Opinions on instruction style

[Kevin Sporleder <kevinsp -at- CRT -dot- COM>]

My Webster's states that the word desire "stresses the strength of feeling and
 often implies strong intention or aim." Therefore, I think "Choose the
 appropriate..." is better than "Choose the desired..."

Kevin Sporleder  kevinsp -at- crt -dot- com

----- Original message follows -----

 > Hello out there,
 >
 > Thankyou all for being there, whether you have an opinion on this or
 > not.
 >
 > I'm running into a bit of a conflict here and I want some outside
 > opinions. The interface for the product I'm working on involves a lot
 > of selecting items from lists. Every time they instruct a user to
 > select an item from a list, the other writers use the phrase "Choose
 > the desired..." fill in the blank item. This drives me bananas but if
 > enough of you tell me I'm a fool and I should just settle down then,
 > I'll drink less coffee, more juice, and I'll practice breathing
 > exercises.
 >
 > I don't DESIRE any of the options I select during a session with a
 > software product. I don't DESIRE a particular font, or size, or data
 > source. I use them to produce a desired result, if you want to include,
 > if you NEED to include, desire in the whole process.
 >
 > I had been writing "Choose the appropriate..." or "Choose a..." but in
 > reviewing some text recently I saw that all my phrases had been changed
 > to read "Choose the desired..."
 >
 > Please help. Tell me to settle down, or tell me a better way, but tell
 > me....
 >
 > again, thanks (I don't dare say tanks after the recent discussion
 > amongst the Americans online)
 >
 > ... waja ...
 > opinions?! opinions?! we don't need no stinking opinions!
 > don't sit under the Bodhi tree with anyone else but me... anyone else
 > but me...
 >
 >