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Subject:RE: Meaning of the slash (/) mark From:"Andrew Warren" <awarren -at- synaptics -dot- com> To:"C" <cll01821 -at- lycos -dot- com>, <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Wed, 6 Sep 2006 18:33:07 -0700
C wrote:
> 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".
> ....
> 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".
> ....
> I typically try to avoid using [the slash] at all, and when I
> do use it, it means "or".
Carol:
Unfortunately, "or" has multiple meanings, so your instructions may be
unclear even if you only use the slash to mean "or".
In your example, "Select OK/Yes" means "answer affirmatively by
selecting OK or YES", but that's very different from "Select Yes/No",
which means "answer affirmatively by selecting YES, or negatively by
selecting NO"... Even though the slash is read as "or" in both cases.
Probably a good idea to avoid using it.
-Andrew
=== Andrew Warren - awarren -at- synaptics -dot- com
=== Synaptics, Inc - Santa Clara, CA
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