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Subject:Re: VD and other such abbrevs... From:Emily Skarzenski <71220 -dot- 341 -at- COMPUSERVE -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 2 May 1995 09:46:08 EDT
Mark wrote:
>all documents for the same product will be receiving
>part numbers beginning with the designation "VD."
<snip>
>"...for diseases the abbreviation STD has largely
>replaced the abbreviation VD...."
<snip>
>Are people really going to notice? Are people
>really going to snicker?
I don't think having "VD" as part of the part number is a problem. A few people
may notice; some may even snicker. But I don't think they'll be snickering at
you or your document, only the coincidence.
When I was in college, I was an officer in our local chapter of the English
national honor society. I'm sure lots of other folks on the list were in this
honor society, too. Anybody remember the society's name? Sigma Tau Delta. That's
right--STD. The abbreviation never registered with a lot of people; in fact, it
seemed that we in the society were the only ones that joked about it. I was
keenly aware of it, however, and whenever I abbreviated it on paper, I used the
Greek letters. This at least made the "D" a triangle, and so took some of the
sting out of it.
Emily Skarzenski
Head Technical Writer
Fastech, Inc. - Broomall, PA
71220 -dot- 341 -at- compuserve -dot- com