Re: Incorrect use of "it's" in package control files -- file mass bug?

[Thomas Bushnell BSG <tb@becket.net>]

Sam Hocevar <sam@zoy.org> writes:

> On Fri, Aug 27, 2004, Florian Weimer wrote:
> 
> > If this is really important, lintian could enforce a style guide that
> > prohibts "it's" altogether, always requiring the spelled-out versions.
> > (While we are at it, "e.g." and "i.e." are good candidates for a ban,
> > too. 8-)
> 
>    Why? Although they are sometimes misused, "e.g." and "i.e." are
> perfectly fine.

Well, "for example" and "that is" are better ways to spell them.  In
English, "e.g." is an ideograph, which is pronounce identically to
"for example", and so it's better to just write "for example".

But this is hardly an absolute rule, and they are not incorrect.  The
15th Chicago Manual of Style says (section 5.202): "The English
equivalents are preferable in formal prose, though sometimes the
quickness of these two-letter abbreviations makes them desirable.
Always but a comma after either of them."

In my opinion, it's best not to use them in Debian package
descriptions, because they don't contribute anything to clarity, and
with our international audience we do well to avoid them.

Thomas