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:To use or not to use the term "WYSIWIG"? From:adf1972 -at- yahoo -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Wed, 2 Feb 2005 09:38:50 -0700
I'm getting flack from a QA person here for using the acronym "WYSIWIG"
(i.e., "what you see is what you get") in a manual draft. He dislikes that
it's so slang-y sounding.
Well, I agree that "WYSIWIG" sounds a bit on the slangy side, but it is
(or was) a common, accepted technical term and has been in use for a long
time. I checked both www.pcwebopaedia.com and www.whatis.com, and it's
listed in both places. If I'm remembering correctly back to my Lotus 1-2-3
days, that software application even called one of its GUI screens "the
WYSIWIG". It seems to me that some other common techno terms, such as
"blog", are on the slang-y side, but newspapers and magazines still use
them.
I chose to include the term in the manual because it conveys in just one
word the concept I'm trying to get across -- that the way the thing looks
when it prints is pretty much the way it looks on the screen. Yeah, I
included the longer verbal explanation as well. But as I said, to those
"in the know", the acronym works as an immediately understood one-word
explanation for the concept.
What do you all think? Is it too casual and jargony a term to use in a
technical manual?
WEBWORKS FINALDRAFT - EDIT AND REVIEW, REDEFINED
Accelerate the document lifecycle with full online discussions and unique feedback-management capabilities. Unlimited, efficient reviews for Word
and FrameMaker authors. Live, online demo: http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
Technical Communication Certificate online - Malaspina-University College, Canada. Online training in technical writing, software (FrameMaker, RoboHelp, Dreamweaver, Acrobat), document & web design, writing manuals, job search. www.pr.mala.bc.ca/tech_comm.htm for details.
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.