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Subject:Re: Tab and Subtab? From:kafkascampi <kafkascampi -at- gmail -dot- com> To:Michael West <mike -dot- west -at- bigpond -dot- com> Date:Sat, 24 Apr 2010 10:07:28 -0700
"But why, I would ask, did they feel the need to invent
a new word for something as ordinary as that? Why not "View Supplier
Contacts"?
Ego problems combined with ignorance - that would be my guess."
What I'm describing is a complex application that has multiple levels of
tabbed "views". The first level is a "view", and the second is a
"subview"--it appears at a level below the view. If I'm describing in words
where to click, "Click the Contacts Subview" is fine, and consistent
throughout our ui. "View Supplier Contacts" doesn't make much sense.
Not sure why you want to offer a suggestion for or condemnation of language
in an app you haven't seen.
Have a better one
Chris
On Sat, Apr 24, 2010 at 7:09 AM, Michael West <mike -dot- west -at- bigpond -dot- com> wrote:
> Chris wrote:
>
>
>
> > It's terminology that's pretty core to our ui..not sure
>
> > if it would work for you guys, but that is the syntax I
>
> > would use. "Click the Suppliers View and select the
> > Contacts Subview."
>
>
>
>
>
> This seems to me a very good example of language pollution by unnecessary
> coinage.
>
>
>
> It's something technical people seem to enjoy, because (1) they think
> they're so clever that the English language needs to be modified to
> accommodate their brilliance, and (2) their understanding of how language
> actually works is often tenuous.
>
>
>
> If the developers have actually put something on the screen that reads
> "Contacts Subview", then as the tech writer you have little choice in the
> matter. If that's what a user has to click, then so be it - that's how you
> have to describe it. But why, I would ask, did they feel the need to invent
> a new word for something as ordinary as that? Why not "View Supplier
> Contacts"?
>
>
>
> Ego problems combined with ignorance - that would be my guess.
>
>
>
> --
>
> Michael West
>
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