On Wed, 6 Jun 2001 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> However, fwiw, your notes regarding slang and such were mildly suprising,
> or at least confusing in some cases, because my interpretation was the
> same as yours, and not of any of the possible confusions.
That my interpretation of the text is the same as your intention is
reassuring, but besides the point. The point is, that terse colloquial
text can easily be mis-understood. I grogged what you have been writing,
and for the examples I gave more elaborate alternatives that may be better
understood by more people than the original text.
> On Thu, 7 Jun 2001, Tom Peters wrote:
> > * Be VERY careful with your language, do not use colloquialisms and
> > slang. Someone who is not fluent in English must be able to figure out
> > the meaning of the objective with the help of a dictionary (be it a
> > special one on technical English).
> >
> > e.g.:
> >
> > - "Configure Linux installation": What is "installation"? Most properly,
> > it is the act of installing. So you ask to do something about the
> > installation procedure itself, presumably when creating the installation
> > CD of a Linux distribution. So the phrase may be interpreted to mean
> > things like: "Create the default configuration of a Linux system for the
> > installation CD of a Linux distribution", or "Create configuration tools
> > for the installation CD of a Linux distribution" or "Create the default
> > settings of the installation procedure for a Linux distribution" - all of
> > which are quite unlike what you mean.
> > I guess by "installation" you mean: "that which has been installed",
> > i.e. a Linux system; but this is a more colloquial use of the word.
> > Such terse (3-words!) colloquial formulas can only be understood
> > when expanded, which may be done in any number of different ways.
> > I think in this case you mean to say something like "Be able to
> > configure a Linux system to include ..." or "Be able to configure a Linux
> > system during installation to ...".
> >
> > - "Configure Linux ... configuration" is a tautology and has no specific
> > meaning.
> >
> > - "autodetect" is hardly a well-known verb, and it may have different
> > interpretations. In this case, I suggest a more elaborate formulation,
> > like: "Be able to configure the system to automatically detect PCMCIA
> > devices, such as network cards."
> >
> > - Finally, if there is nothing to list among the examples, it is better to
> > leave out the bulleted list. Otherwise people may think they are missing
> > something.
> >
> > [4.8.1, 4.8.2
> > Obj : Configuring PCMCIA devices
> > Configure Linux installation and configuration to include PCMCIA
> > support. Configure PCMCIA devices, such as network cards, to
> > autodetect.
> > Includes tools and files such as:
> > *
--
Tom Peters
Director of the Board & Exam Development Specialist,
Linux Professional Institute
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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