TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:RE: Gun to the head - How Nasty! From:barry -dot- kieffer -at- exgate -dot- tek -dot- com To:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com Date:Tue, 2 Nov 1999 09:13:31 -0800
I agree with Michelle. As technical writers it is our duty to rid society of
all of these violent words, phrases, and deeds.
Again, I plead to my fellow technical writers: STOP USING THE DESCRIPTION
"BULLETS"!
No more bulleted lists! It is too violent and makes me think of drive by
shootings.
Lets call them "happy dots". Instead of round bullet hole looking dots,
please follow my lead and use hearts or clover shapes.
No more disabling fonts! We must enable happy fonts, like sans comic.
No more forcing paragraphs to the next page! We must enable paragraphs to be
happy on a new page of their own.
I cried last week when I found out that the engineering staff was going to
"cripple" the next software demo release. I had to return to counseling to
get over the trauma of the thought of "crippling code".
We must strive to rid any possible violent word or phrase from our technical
writing.
Thank you for your love and understanding.
Barry
Michelle wrote:
> Why should we use phrases that help us envision a very violent scenario?
> There are many people who have been touched by guns in a violent way. We,
> as a people, should be more sensitive to this issue. I believe there are
> better ways to phrase the question, without using the word gun.
>
>
