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I tend to agree with the negative connotation. But it doesn't mean (in my
mind) the same thing as "cancel."
"Cancel" means nothing permanent has been done, and we just aren't going
to do what we had set out to do. "Abort" means that we are in the middle
of a process, and we are going to bail out right here, or at the next
opportunity, with possible unpleasant consequences.
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Mike Huber
mike -dot- huber -at- software -dot- rockwell -dot- com
Opinions expressed are mine alone, any resemblance to those of Rockwell
Software (as if a corporation had opinions) are strictly coincidental.
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From: Eric Haddock[SMTP:eric -at- ENGAGENET -dot- COM]
Sent: Monday, November 11, 1996 1:07 PM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: Re: Killer Language -Reply
Whenever I hear the word "abort," I can't not think about abortion. No
matter what the context is I can't help myself.
To me, anything with "abort" in it has a negative connotation even if
the action itself is merely a computer sort. My sensitivity to this is in
the minority I know, but especially if you're American (because this is
such an issue here) I think it's something worth thinking about since
everyone who reads a manual is probably aware enough of the world outside
the office to be affected or have an opinion or be susceptible to the hot
button that issue represents. It's a word choice that flirts with danger.
It doesn't matter what your stance on that issue is, even being
reminded
of it can be negative.
