RE: terminology that swings both ways

["Lauren" <lauren -at- writeco -dot- net>]

Hi Kevin,

I think if you took a role-based approach to your documentation, then you
avoid the awkwardness of the terminology.  The customer's computer is not a
client when it is performing the role of a server.  You do not need to
document every role that a physical piece of equipment performs when you
document a specific set of operations.  You need to document the _specific_
set of operations whether they are those of a client *or* a server.  

There are times when your customer's computer can be a desktop workstation,
but you would not state, "Go to the workstation to administer the
workstation's server and enter login information to access Company X
server."  You also do not need to account for how your customers use your
product, whether they dedicate clients and servers or combine clients and
servers on one machine.  It is not your job to know what they will do.  

Document the customer's server operations in one manual, the customer's
client operations in another manual, and whatever other sets of operations
you have in other manuals, but keep the roles (client and server) separated.

Lauren

> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+lauren=writeco -dot- net -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com 
> [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+lauren=writeco -dot- net -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> ] On Behalf Of McLauchlan, Kevin
> Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2007 9:20 AM
> To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: terminology that swings both ways
> 
> What do y'all do with widely used terms like "client" and 
> "server" that
> can rightfully be used interchangeably (yet perfectly 
> accurately either
> way) in the same sentence? How to minimize the ambiguity without
> maximizing wordiness and if/thens?
> 
>  
> 
> For example, in a few places in my Help, I have to talk about
> configuration and interactions among our product, our customer's
> computer, and _their_ customers' computers. Our product is a server to
> the client... the customer's computer, and it might also be a 
> server to
> the customer's customers' client computers... or our customer 
> might use
> our product as a server but act as a server to their customer 
> clients...
> or...  there could be a situation where our customer's 
> computer serves a
> certain type of operation to their customers, but hands off a 
> subset of
> those operations that our product does best. So, it's not as simple as
> just putting categorical adjectives in front of the various possible
> occurrences of "client" or "server", since those might switch in the
> middle of a thought.
> 
>  
> 
> Don't get me started on "host"....
> 
>  
> 
> Sentences could become a little awkward.
> 
>  
> 
> Is there a standard approach? A best practice?
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks,
> 
>  
> 
> Kevin
> 
> 
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