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Subject:Re: <pPopulate as a verb for "fill in" From:Ann Amsler <aamsler -at- STRAUSS -dot- UDEL -dot- EDU> Date:Fri, 13 Jan 1995 10:53:04 -0500
I've heard "populate" used around here, but the programmers tell me it's
not a comman usage (at UD, anyway). I'm with you, I'd rewrite the
sentence in active voice and get rid of "populate" altogether. "Fill in"
sounds fine to me.
Ann Amsler
On Fri, 13 Jan 1995, Osmundo R. Fernandez wrote:
> The following sentence appears in a manual I'm rewriting:
> "Some fields are empty and must be populated by you. Other fields already
are populated with a default setting that you can either leave alone or
change to another value."
> Does the use of "populate" bother anyone. Personally, I'd rewrite the entire
paragraph in the active voice and find another verb for "populate." I'm new
in this company and I've been told that this use of "populate" is common.
I've never come across it. Has anyone else?