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.
> In much of our documentation the sentence (or one similar) appears:
> Select the ABC Menu function you want.
> It was:
> Select the ABC Menu function you desire.
>
> Due to the connotations of desire we revised as shown.
>
> Is there a better way to say this? The words can be totally rearranged
> and/or replaced
I agree that "want" beats "desire," as "desire" does have connotations
that are, well, undesireable, where "want" is a more-neutral way of saying
the same thing (and saves a syllable to boot--less is more). But how
about the simpler
Select a function from the ABC menu
removing all question of want/desire/lust from the situation? Presumably
the user will not select a function he or she DOESN'T want, after all.
Jay Mead
Galileo International
jay -dot- mead -at- den -dot- galileo -dot- com
TECHWR-L (Technical Communication) List Information: To send a message
to 2500+ readers, e-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot- Send commands
to LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU (e.g. HELP or SIGNOFF TECHWR-L).
Search the archives at http://www.documentation.com/ or search and
browse the archives at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html
