[no subject]

["Cheverie, Paul [Cont]" <paul -dot- cheverie -at- CANADA -dot- CDEV -dot- COM>]

> *Every* field has jargon. If we were to remove all jargon from computer
> documentation we'd be telling people to place their dominant-hand palm on
the
> top flat surface of the  sort-of-oval-shaped plastic device (first
positioning
> the device  so that its rests on one of its large sides, specifically the
> large
> side with the writing on it, and with the cord attached on the thinner
side
> pointing away from oneself), and push the device across their desks,
> maintaining continuous contact between the rolling piece of the bottom of
the
> larger device and the desk or pad on which it sits, in the general
direction
> (with "up" on screen denoted as away from oneself) equivalent to the
direction
> in which they want the arrow on their screens to move... and then when the
> blinking arrow on the screen points to the desired part of the screen
picture,
> stop moving the device and quickly depress and release the leftmost
portion of
> the yields-to-pressure area on its top surface....

     I think you've missed your own point here.
What a paragraph has been used to define here is the use of a 'mouse' (which
is an accepted equipment name in the computer industry). Every technological
field has it's own unique specific terminology. As technical writers we
write to a specific audience who have a specific trade or industry lexicon
(and we better know who we are writing for if we want to continue working as
TW's). It behooves us to use their language if we are trying to tell them
something. Jargon on the other hand, is not in general use throughout an
entire industry, it is idiomatic and it is not, or may not be, understood by
all people working in any particular industry.
     The use of  the noun 'aileron' may be unknown to people without some
experience with aircraft, yet in writing air frame maintenance manuals,
aircraft operating procedures, and flight instruction manuals I've used the
word quite extensively. It is a trade-specific, universally accepted noun -
it is a name, it isn't jargon. The same rule applies to 'mouse' in the
computer industry - it is a name, not jargon.
     The use of Jargon in a technical manual, an operators manual or a
computer user's manual is an extreme no-no. It is unacceptable at any time
when writing a technical manual. The use of accepted terminology to your
intended reader is mandatory. Anything else is a waste of money, time,
paper,  and/or memory. Besides, one of the big reasons for there being a
profession such as the one we practise is precisely to get rid of the
indiscriminate use of 'jargon'. We get paid to write things that people
understand.

Paul