RE: Use of the second and third person in documentation

["Hadley, Tim" <tim -dot- hadley -at- ttu -dot- edu>]

IMHO, either is acceptable as long as it is consistently applied.
However, also IMHO, the standard 2nd person imperative verb (click) is
preferable in most cases:

--To submit your information, click Submit.
--To contact us, click Send Us An Email.
Etc.
  
Tim
 
Tim Hadley
Graduate Assistant, Graduate School Fellowships and Scholarships
Ph.D. candidate, Technical Communication and Rhetoric
Texas Tech University

-----Original Message-----
From: bounce-techwr-l-114459 -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:bounce-techwr-l-114459 -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of A.H.
Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2005 9:52 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: Use of the second and third person in documentation


Hello, all,

  Is it standard practice to refer to users of
software a "the user" or "users," or as "you"?

  Examples: 1. Users can click...
            2. You can click...

Thanks,
Anthony Hernandez
Technical Writing Intern
Fund for the City of New York



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