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:Re: PC inanities (flame alert) From:Kat Nagel <KatNagel -at- AOL -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 24 Nov 1994 10:22:22 -0500
Virginia Krenn wrote:
> Chairperson does serve a purpose. For example, it is better to
> announce that it is time to elect a new chairperson than to limit the
> election to one sex or the other.
Karen Kay replied
>But what purpose does it serve that cannot be better served by 'chair'?
Aw, c'mon. 'Chair' is a thing, not a person. I _do_ use 'chair'
(reluctantly) because I can't think of an alternative that won't get me
roasted. But I'm _not_ happy about it. Electing a chair seems a darned
silly thing to do. What if I preferred to elect a sofa? And I *know* Arlen
would vote for the piano bench or the porch swing. (Please note, I
maintained internal functional consistency in my examples.)
Grrrr. This whole topic is making my feminist-but-RATIONAL blood fry. I
_know_ the issue of appropriate language is important in our work, and
therefore a suitable topic for this list, but let's suspend the subject for a
day or two, huh?
Watched any good Technical Communications movies lately? Wanna come over an'
see my clip art? (I think I need a break.)
@kat katnagel -at- aol -dot- com
=======================================
LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS: Heat flows from a warmer body to a
cooler body---except in the case of a cat. ALL heat flows to the cat.
====from "Cat Physics" by Mendenhall====
