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Subject:Re: Use of "You" From:Mike Stockman <stockman -at- jagunet -dot- com> To:"Joanne Meehl" <Jmeehl -at- datum -dot- com>, "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 29 Nov 1999 11:07:17 -0500
On 11/29/99 10:17 AM, Joanne Meehl (Jmeehl -at- datum -dot- com) wrote:
>Two of the instructors in my Tech Writing program at Northeastern Univ. say
>"NEVER use 'you' in technical documentation". They don't mean the writer
>should eliminate the implied "you", as in "Click the right mouse button".
>They just don't like the sound of "you"--they say it's too casual or
>familiar.
Some people have the opinion that technical writing should never appear
casual or familiar. As shown by the Dummies, Idiot, Bibles, and other
wildly successful and casually-written mass-market books, not all
end-users agree.
Whether you use contractions, "you," humor, and other more casual
techniques depends on your organization's style, your personal
preference, and the results of some target-audience testing of your
documentation. Your instructor's opinion stopped being important when you
received your final grade.
