Re: Acronyms & Abbreviations--Just Say NO!

["Janice Gelb" <janice -dot- gelb -at- sun -dot- com>]

Tom Murrell <:trmurrell -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote:
> 
> Right behind pronoun use (or misuse, to be more precise) the 
> use of acronyms and abbreviations serve to obscure meaning 
> and reduce clarity of communication in favor of making the 
> job easier for writers. It is easier to type FYI than to type 
> For Your Information, so we do that even though we all get a 
> curious interrogative reply occasionally asking what the heck 
> FYI means (or YMMV or AFAIK or whatever). And official or work-
> related acronyms and abbreviations cause far more confusion than
> these shorthands do.
> 

First of all, the acronyms you cite as causing reader 
confusion are not acronyms that I think are generally 
used in technical documentation. I mainly see them in 
email or list posts. I believe most people reading this 
type of email or message accept that people are striving 
for brevity and one soon gets used to the common acronyms.

Regarding technical documentation, our rule is that acronyms 
(except *exceedingly* common ones like CPU) should be written 
out on first usage. Also, the acronym should appear in both 
forms (acronym with spelled-out term in parentheses, and 
spelled-out term with acronym in parentheses) in the index, 
with one form being the primary entry and the other being 
a cross-reference. And if your book has a glossary, 
acronyms should appear there also.

These rules should avoid reader confusion, and enable 
writers to use acronyms common to their industry and 
technology area.

-- Janice

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