atw: Re: SEC: UNCLASS Plain English and corporate notices

I confess to grinding my teeth when I hear Vodaphone's confirmation
message on their Prepay Service recharge line. "Your call credit expiry
period is valid until... [date]" -- a clumsy and illogical conflation of
"Your call credits will expire on [date]" with "Your call credits are
valid until [date]".

------------------------------------------
Peter Bloxsom
http://www.netpublish.net
peter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
----- Original Message -----
From: "Arnold Howard" <ahoward@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, November 24, 2005 12:20 AM
Subject: atw: Re: SEC: UNCLASS Plain English and corporate notices


> Another example of unclear communication: Symbols replace the words
"Front"
> and "Back" for the burner knobs on my stove. The symbols are perfectly
> logical even to me, yet nevertheless I have turned on the wrong burner
> several times.
>
> Arnold
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Silcock, Howard DR" <Howard.Silcock@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2005 5:50 PM
> Subject: atw: SEC: UNCLASS Plain English and corporate notices
>
>
> > This work is starting to get to me. There's something about working
with
> > words all day that makes it hard to remember when you're off duty. I
> > spend so much time reflecting on how to rewrite procedures more
clearly
> > that I've started collecting notices that I see in the lift or in the
> > tea-room, or wherever.
>
>
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