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Subject:Re: appears vs is displayed From:Mitch Berg <mberg -at- IS -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 25 Mar 1997 09:44:46 -0600
> The screen doesn't just appear all by itself.
From the users point of view it might. It depends on the user.
>
> To change it to 'active' voice, one would have to say "the such-and-such"
> system displays the screen. That would be unnecesary and probably
> confusing.
You're right - it's IS both unnecessary and confusing. Would it help the
user learn the task at hand? Probably not. Depending on the audience,
concealing the source of the "appearance" might not be a bad idea.
Does using "Appear", which seems to adequately describe the event, hinder
the user? I doubt it.
I think "Appears" is accurate.
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