Re: VERBAGE

Subject: Re: VERBAGE
From: Jay Mead <jlmead -at- OURAY -dot- CUDENVER -dot- EDU>
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 09:15:49 -0600

On Thu, 18 Sep 1997, Julie Hansen wrote:

> In much of our documentation the sentence (or one similar) appears:
> Select the ABC Menu function you want.
> It was:
> Select the ABC Menu function you desire.
>
> Due to the connotations of desire we revised as shown.
>
> Is there a better way to say this? The words can be totally rearranged
> and/or replaced

I agree that "want" beats "desire," as "desire" does have connotations
that are, well, undesireable, where "want" is a more-neutral way of saying
the same thing (and saves a syllable to boot--less is more). But how
about the simpler

Select a function from the ABC menu

removing all question of want/desire/lust from the situation? Presumably
the user will not select a function he or she DOESN'T want, after all.

Jay Mead
Galileo International
jay -dot- mead -at- den -dot- galileo -dot- com

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