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Subject:Re: Use of "your" From:Stephen Forrest <techwriter -at- IBM -dot- NET> Date:Thu, 17 Jul 1997 21:43:18 GMT
At 08:36 PM 7/16/97 -0500, Kris Olberg wrote:
>I was taught years ago--too many years, actually--that a writer or
>interface designer should not refer to items as being possessed, such as in
>"your mail," "your keyboard," "your clients," "your machine," etc.
>
>(1) why did we adopt this convention? (like I said, it's been too many
>years for me)
It was adopted by humorless, unimaginative people who thought it made their
work more professional. Now, I think, the better documentation departments
have noticed that their product is used by real people much like themselves,
and that those users typically consult the manual only as a last resort
while at the same time going out and spending $40 for a "user guide" that is
cheerful, practical, and written in friendly, second person language.
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