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Yes, when it comes to our products, we do feel that we have a certain
knowledgeable authority. Having said that, we recognize the difference
between a required action and a recommended one. That difference is
often expressed during training, and sometimes in the documentation as
well.
-----Original Message-----
From: Porrello, Leonard
Sent: Friday, February 03, 2012 10:33 AM
To: Dan Goldstein; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: WRONG!..... -ish?
"We recommend" puts too much weight on the personal authority of the
speaker. Instead, I prefer using statements that are, at least in
appearance, more objective. For example, "It is best to use a text
editor (such as Notepad)."
I also agree with those that prefer the use of an imperative, such as
this: "Do not remove the covers that are installed at the factory as
removal of the covers may cause...."
-----Original Message-----
From: Dan Goldstein
Sent: Friday, February 03, 2012 5:33 AM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: WRONG!..... -ish?
What if the consequences aren't dire? Many of us use "recommend" when we
think an action is preferable but we acknowledge that it might not
matter to the reader.
"We recommend using a text editor (such as Notepad). If you use a word
processor (such as Word), unwanted formatting items might be copied into
the string value."
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