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I don't know if thre are any perfect replacements fr master/slave ...
and other potentially explosive words or phrases... I wnder if in a
technical manual if people really do take these phrases/words out of
context
Ah, there we've hit the main point. Context is everything. Someone who is
likely to take the phrase out of context and then take offense at it is
likely to find all sorts of unfortunate constructions in our writing.
This, I think, boils back down to the proscrtive/descriptive debate we've
often held. Is it our job to accurately descibe what we are writing about,
using the industry-recognized terms, or is it our job to come into the
industry and tell them they're all wrong in their terminology, and force
them to adjust their thoughts to our heightened, and presumably better,
sensibilities?
The purpose of a manual is technical communication, not moral improvement.
I'll use the terms the industry recognizes, because those are the terms my
audience will know best. It's hard enough getting the material accurate as
it is; I'm not about to waste my time trying to make my audience think and
act like me as well.
Have fun,
Arlen
Chief Managing Director In Charge, Department of Redundancy Department
DNRC 224
Arlen -dot- P -dot- Walker -at- JCI -dot- Com
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In God we trust; all others must provide data.
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Opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.
If JCI had an opinion on this, they'd hire someone else to deliver it.
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