Re: Alternative to typo?

[Joel <eleysium -at- gmail -dot- com>]

Great points - thanks!

On Fri, Mar 27, 2009 at 9:12 AM, Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca> wrote:

> Joel wondered: <<For some reason I am having trouble coming up with an
> alternative to "typo." I have a sentence that says: "A typo in this command
> may render the unit unresponsive." Should I change it to, "a typographical
> error"? That sounds stuffy. "A mistake in typing..."? Something else?>>
>
> Strictly speaking, a typographical error would be choosing Times New Roman
> for any font designed to communicate with members of this list. <g> and
> <stitch> When in doubt, be direct: "If you type this command incorrectly,
> the unit may stop responding [to what: your inputs? to juidicious blows with
> a hammer?]."
>
> But there are two additional problems here. First and most important, why
> (in this day and age) would any sane engineer (if such a creature exists)
> allow this to happen? How hard is it to parse the commands first and refuse
> to perform such a dangerous command? Why is there no way to solve the
> problem? On the other hand, if there is a secret command that will cause it
> to begin responding again, revise the sentence as follows: "If you type this
> command incorrectly, you will need to type [reset command name] to reset the
> unit so it will again respond to [whatever]."
>
> Second, and no less important, "may" is unacceptably vague: if at all
> possible, make the SME tell you clearly and unequivocally when a typo will
> and will not cause this behavior, and clearly spell this out for the reader.
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Geoff Hart (www.geoff-hart.com)
> ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca / geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Effective Onscreen Editing:
> http://www.geoff-hart.com/books/eoe/onscreen-book.htm
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
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