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The second person is already addressed directly in any instruction phrased
within the imperative mood; the pronoun "you" is omitted, but understood.
So, if "Click OK" is acceptable, "You cannot delete this" must also be.
If a reader thinks that the manual is addressing him directly ("You in the
red shirt! Bill! Bill Higgins! Yes, I'm talking to you! HEY!! YOU CAN'T
DELETE THIS!!! HAW HAW HAW HAW!!!"), there may be issues to be addressed
that are, shall we say, beyond the scope of technical communication.
Robert Parker
rparker -at- welkintech -dot- com
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Welkin Technical Communications http://www.welkintech.com/
We make technical communications concise, elegant, and effective.
