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Re: consistency in terminology

Subject: Re: consistency in terminology
From: Dan Emory <danemory -at- primenet -dot- com>
To: "Sella Rush" <sellar -at- mail -dot- apptechsys -dot- com>, "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 20:19:13 -0700

At 06:57 PM 5/15/00 -0700, Sella Rush wrote:

I think maintaining consistency on this level is a basic part of my job--I
don't want to introduce *more* confusion through the so-called help. If I
were faced with such a document, I'd notice the discrepancy between
"setting" permissions and "defining" them and would be sensitive to the
possibility that they're two different concepts.

The obvious answer is, of course, "not necessarily". In an ideal world we
would strive for consistency across the board. But it made me wonder how
high other tech writers rate this level of consistency.

Obviously, I rate it pretty high, second only to information completeness
and accuracy. I want my readers to be clear about what they're reading, not
have to think about possible alternative meanings, not have to think about
the words themselves at all, only the information being conveyed. If the
sloppiness causes confusion, doesn't it negate the value of accurate
information?
=========================================================
You are definitely not underrating the importance of consistency. When a user has a problem (s)he can't seem to solve and refers to a manual or on-line help, (s)he's grasping at straws. In that kind of situation, any variations in the way the same thing is stated will take on greater meaning. In other words, the user says to him/herself: "I've assumed all along that those variations didn't mean anything, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe the answer to my problem lies there." So the user wastes time trying to figure out what significance there is in the variations.
====================
| Nullius in Verba |
====================
Dan Emory, Dan Emory & Associates
FrameMaker/FrameMaker+SGML Document Design & Database Publishing
Voice/Fax: 949-722-8971 E-Mail: danemory -at- primenet -dot- com
10044 Adams Ave. #208, Huntington Beach, CA 92646
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