Re: To Cc or not to Cc

["Jeanne A. E. DeVoto" <jaed -at- jaedworks -dot- com>]

At 5:17 PM -0800 11/22/99, Robert Heath wrote:
>In reviewing a colleague's draft of an online help system, I have noticed
>many places where she uses "Cc" as a verb, as in the following example:"If
>you want to Cc the email to another user,..."
>
>I've looked in the MS Computer Dictionary, 3rd ed. and find "Cc" listed as a
>noun only. To my ear, it sounds too informal to use in online help and I
>think "send a copy to" would be more appropriate.

"Cc" as either noun or verb sounds a bit awkward to my ear (though "send a
Cc to" is less grating than "Cc"). On the other hand, it has a degree of
precision that "send a copy" does not. One might "send a copy" of an email
message in a number of ways.

I'd say it depends on context. If the context makes it completely clear -
even to the most newbie member of your target audience - that the way you
send a copy is to place the copy recipient's name in the Cc field, "send a
copy" ought to work. (It looks like it will work well in the example you
give above, for instance, because there you're actually instructing the
user on how to send a copy, and the *method* cited in the instruction is
putting the recipient's name in the Cc field.)

However, there may be cases in your help system where "send a copy" would
be ambiguous, so you'll need to look at it case by case.

--
jeanne a. e. devoto ~ jaed -at- jaedworks -dot- com
http://www.jaedworks.com
Morning people may be respected, but night people are feared.