atw: Re: Mouses??

I'd like to echo Stuart here. Can someone who finds 'mice' objectionable 
maybe explain WHY? 

I knew that Microsoft advocated 'mouse devices', but they don't explain 
why, or what's wrong with 'mice', either. 

The device was named after the animal, after all, wasn't it? Should we 
start saying that gears and combs have 'tooths'? I can't help feeling that 
the objection to 'mice' is based on some idea that computers are too 
dignified to be sullied with names borrowed from 'ordinary' objects, let 
alone such trivial and childish animals. Perhaps the thinking is "we're 
stuck with 'mouse' now, but surely we can't be expected to carry this 
undignified metaphor any *further*"? 

Howard

Howard Silcock 
Technical Writer
ADI Limited
Electronic Systems
1 Phipps Close, Deakin, ACT 2600
Ph. +61 2 6234 6075
Fax +61 2 6234 6011
Email: howard.silcock@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Web page: www.adi-limited.com.au 




Stuart Burnfield <sburnf@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent by: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
28/09/2006 11:25 AM
Please respond to austechwriter

 
        To:     austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
        cc: 
        Subject:        atw: Re: Mouses??


Janice Gelb wrote:
> While I think "mouses" is ridiculous, I also
> object to "mice" for the plural. Our style guide
> recommends "mouse devices" if you really need a
> plural but most of the time we try to rewrite
> so as to use the singular.

So you seem to be saying that the computer mouse shouldn't have a plural
form ("mouses" ridiculous; "mice" objectionable; "mouse devices" to be
avoided). Why?

BTW the IBM Word Usage database says 'Use "mice" as the plural of 
"mouse."'

---
Stuart Burnfield
Information Developer
IBM Australia Development Laboratory (ADL), Perth

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