Re: Style Guides?

Subject: Re: Style Guides?
From: Don M Chaffee <dchaffee -at- WORLD -dot- STD -dot- COM>
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 1994 03:15:07 GMT

mpriestley -at- vnet -dot- ibm -dot- com writes:

>Don M. Chaffee (dchaffee -at- WORLD -dot- STD -dot- COM) writes:
>>Apple Style Guide. They're the only computer company I've run across that
>>has even bothered to write a style guide. If Microsoft has one, their

...

>>Write in the present tense, active voice, indicative mood.
>> "The system displays the dialog box"
>> not
>> "The dialog box appears"

>An unfortunate example. I prefer the second to the first, and both are in the
>present tense, active voice, and indicative mood (or has my grammar grown
>completely rusty?).

"The dialog box appears" is passive. Dialog boxes don't "appear" as
though magical. The system or application displays them. I had this rule
pounded into me by one of the best docos at this end of the galaxy, Hank
Watters. Also a good boss. Granted, it's a purist's point of view, and as
you can tell by a couple of sentences in this paragraph even us purists
don't let it get in the way of our email.

So your grammar may be a bit rusty, Michael, but considering for whom you
work, that ain't bad.

Watters made terrific roadkill gumbo, too.

Don


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