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Subject:Re: Periods After Whole Numbers etc. From:WRONECKI Frederic DG <frederic -dot- wronecki -at- FRANCETELECOM -dot- FR> Date:Fri, 20 Sep 1996 16:44:26 +0200
Joanna Sheldon wrote :
> Insisting on placing "then" in
> every clause starting with "if" is no help at all to the reader; it is
> simply irritating. (The reader, if s/he is not to be pleased, should at
> least not be annoyed.)
Joanna, YOU are irritated, and so am I !... But what matters is not our
opinion, neither our boss's or client's, but the user's *behaviour*.
I'm not sure that the operator who has to concentrate on his/her task and
not on the style of the manual, will care about the use of "then".
> For that reason, and because it adds unnecessary
> characters to the line, the practice should be avoided whenever possible.
Isn't the second reason rather specious ?....
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Frederic Wronecki
France Telecom, Paris, France
mailto : frederic -dot- wronecki -at- francetelecom -dot- fr
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