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Subject:Re: Use of the word "the" in figure captions From:Nora Merhar <nmerhar -at- CHARLESINDUSTRIES -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 13 Jul 1998 11:45:24 -0500
>I can't see
> why "Alert dialog box" doesn't do this equally as well as
> "The Alert dialog box."
Well, it sounds kinda funny--is the dialog box alert? Are you alerting
someone to the presence of a dialog box?
I don't see this as a big major deal, but I do think that including
the article is less likely to cause confusion--although I doubt that
anyone would be much confused by either form. It comes right down to
preference and what sounds better to you.
I used to walk by a door every day that had a sign on it "This door is
alarmed". I knew perfectly well what it meant, but it always caused a
moment of private hilarity as I speculated about exactly how you could
calm a door down.
