Re: Anthropomorphic Phrases

Subject: Re: Anthropomorphic Phrases
From: "Thiessen, Christopher(Chris) E" <cthiess -at- CERIDIAN-HR -dot- COM>
Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 10:18:00 -0400

When discussing phrasing and style with both novice and experienced
writers,
I've always positioned the system/software as a kind of dumb slave -
typically
anxious and willing to do whatever you ask.That certainly is
anthropomorphic,
but it seems to be a non-threatening anthropomorphism, and throws a bit
of
responsibility back on the person using the software to be specific and
precise
in their requests. Otherwise the slave gets it wrong, feels bad, makes
you
look dumb, etc.

Chris Thiessen
cthiess -at- ceridian-hr -dot- com
----------
From: Matthew J Long
>>Why should I avoid anthropomorphic phrases? Is it just for the sake of
doing
>>so, or is there true merit to this practice?

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