Re: Grammar - The Gotcha Microsoft Gives

Subject: Re: Grammar - The Gotcha Microsoft Gives
From: mattgras -at- comcast -dot- net
To: Richard Combs <richard -dot- combs -at- Polycom -dot- com>
Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2011 15:55:53 +0000 (UTC)



You miss my drift.



I am a person.



I am not a "user," a "customer," or a "consumer."



All those terms present me in relation to products or services, and regard me as a cog in a corporate machine.



This is, I think, a major problem in our world and one of the reasons why profits are more highly regarded than people.



----- Original Message -----


From: "Richard Combs" <richard -dot- combs -at- Polycom -dot- com>
To: mattgras -at- comcast -dot- net
Cc: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Sent: Thursday, September 8, 2011 8:36:13 AM
Subject: RE: Grammar - The Gotcha Microsoft Gives

mattgras -at- comcast -dot- net wrote:
Â
> I find the words "user," "customer," and "consumer" (especially
> consumer) alarming: why do we all, including media, seem to
> increasingly regard P E O P L E as entites in relationship with
> products?

Alarming? Seriously? I believe there are prescription medications that can help you with that. :-)

After you calm down, you may want to study those terms that disturb you a bit more carefully. You seem to be using "entites" (entities) as a synonym for "things." But the words "user," "customer," and "consumer" aren't references to _entities_ in that sense, they're references to _actors_.

Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
------
rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-903-6372
------







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RE: Grammar - The Gotcha Microsoft Gives: From: Combs, Richard

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