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> Yes, by all means use the Imperative mood in procedural (or even
> non-procedural) content. If I were instructing a friend in
> face-to-face
> conversation, I would say "Click the Franistan button." But I
> would also
> say to that friend "Check that you've entered all the Fritzin
> information before you click the Franistan button." Avoiding the
> second-person pronoun would force me to shift things to a
> passive-voice
> "Check that the Fritzin information has been entered..." Bleagh!
How about,
"Enter all the Fritzin information before clicking the Franistan button."
Fewer words, no contractions, active voice, and easier to write and read
(for me, anyway).
If writing "Enter all..." is not sufficient and another check is required,
then write,
"Enter all the Fritzin information and recheck the information before
clicking the Franistan button."
This is the same number of words as the "you" example (counting the
contraction as one word), but there are two steps in the sentence instead of
one.
> Again, why avoid "you" in any content, procedural or otherwise?
It's rude and bossy, like finger pointing and it uses more (and unnecessary)
words than not stating "you."
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