RE: Meaning of the slash (/) mark

["Elayne" <sandahl -at- rogers -dot- com>]

In my 15-year career as a technical writer, the slash (/) has always
meant "or".  And the ampersand (&) means "and".  And hyphens (-) to make
combinations.  Except I always called the "slash" an oblique.
<smile>

Cheers,
Elayne




-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+sandahl=rogers -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+sandahl=rogers -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of C
Sent: September 6, 2006 3:24 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Meaning of the slash (/) mark



   We had a discussion at work about the meaning of the slash (/) mark.
In my
   25-year career as a technical writer, I have always understood the
slash
   mark to mean "or", as in "Select OK/Yes".



   However, a developer here included options in the interface where the
   administrator chooses a combination of protocols from a list. For
example,
   the administration can choose the "LDAP/MAPI" combination. When
reviewing
   the administrator's guide, I assumed that "LDAP/MAPI" meant "LDAP or
MAPI"
   and asked the tech writer to clarify it for me. She told me that it
means
   "LDAP and MAPI", which was a surprise to me. I didn't know that the
slash
   could mean "or" and "and".



   Searching for usage information brought some interesting information
to
   light, including the fact that usage of the slash often lends itself
to
   ambiguity. It appears that the "or" meaning is common in
instructional
   documentation, but the "and" meaning is common in many other places
where
   the writer simply wants to connect two items through the slash mark.



   So, fellow techwhirlers, what is your understanding of the best
practices
   for using the slash mark? I typically try to avoid using it at all,
and when
   I do use it, it means "or".



   Carol ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word features support for every major Help 
format plus PDF, HTML and more. Flexible, precise, and efficient content

delivery. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l

Easily create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to any popular
Help file format or printed documentation. Learn more at
http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as sandahl -at- rogers -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit
http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/sandahl%40rogers.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word features support for every major Help 
format plus PDF, HTML and more. Flexible, precise, and efficient content 
delivery. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l

Easily create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to any popular Help file format or printed documentation. Learn more at http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- infoinfocus -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40infoinfocus.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.