Op ma 18-08-2003, om 04:06 schreef MJ Ray: > > I wasn't suggesting the *document* is ambiguous. I'm only suggesting the > > meaning of *one* *specific* word *could* be ambiguous to some, and that > > it's *our* job to make sure people understand it correctly, not that of > > those who read it. > > ...a reminder that it's impossible to do this. It most certainly isn't. Not in this case, anyway. > We have to assume that > the reader of the English-language version is actually capable of reading > English and understanding the words. For all we know, someone could be > interpreting "the" as a reference to a hot drink, so I hope that you will > clarify it for them, because it's our job to make sure people understand > it no matter how dumb they're being, right? There's a difference between 'the' and 'software'. Someone who reads 'the' as a reference to a hot drink is either mad or does not know English at all. Given the background of 'software', however, it is not uncommon or unexpected for people to misunderstand it. > If they are in any doubt about what some of it means, there is no shortage > of people to ask. If some of the recent crop of people who started on about > how documentation is not software had bothered to do that... Well, they didn't. And do you know why? Because they thought they were right. It's your right to think this is pointless, but I don't think it is. I'm going through with this. -- Wouter Verhelst Debian GNU/Linux -- http://www.debian.org Nederlandstalige Linux-documentatie -- http://nl.linux.org "An expert can usually spot the difference between a fake charge and a full one, but there are plenty of dead experts." -- National Geographic Channel, in a documentary about large African beasts.
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