atw: Re: Mouses??

Melanie Kendell wrote:
On 28/09/06, Stuart Burnfield <sburnf@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: 
Janice said they would avoid using even that
("we try to rewrite so as to use the singular").
I'm just asking why... I'm not really bothered by either mouses or mice.


Simply because some people *are* bothered by these terms, so if you
can rewrite to avoid pluralising it then all well and good (although I
would prefer to restructure the sentence rather than invent something
like mouse devices).


What she said. We recommend "mouse devices" and we use
it when the plural is necessary. However, it is awkward
so we feel that rewriting for the singular is preferable.
I think readers are more familiar with thinking about
"mouse" as a computer accessory but rarely see it in
the plural so personally (not speaking for our style
guide here) I think both "mice" and "mouse devices"
should be avoided if possible to avoid a slight jolt
in the reading of the sentence.

-- Janice

***********************************************************
Janice Gelb          | The only connection Sun has with
janice.gelb@xxxxxxx  | this message is the return address.

"These are my opinions.  If they were the Biblical
truth, your bushes would be burning -- Randy Lander
**************************************************
To post a message to austechwriter, send the message to 
austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

To subscribe to austechwriter, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 
"subscribe" in the Subject field.

To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 
"unsubscribe" in the Subject field.

To search the austechwriter archives, go to 
www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter

To contact the list administrator, send a message to 
austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
**************************************************

Other related posts: