atw: SEC: UNCLASS RE: Pet hates

Thank you to all who've responded so far to my call for 'pet hates'. This
isn't intended to stem the flow, but more to acknowledge contributions and
to address issues that have arisen. Keep 'em coming ...

The latest response, about i.e. and e.g., has got me thinking. As people
have said, 'that is' and 'for example' serve the same purpose, but I've been
in the habit of using e.g., particularly in 'asides', usually in brackets
(e.g., this one). But now I'm wondering whether we shouldn't abandon them -
and especially their more obscure cousins like 'viz.' and 'sc.' I imagine
when they were used initially most writers would have studied Latin , but
now, as Allan says, people often don't even remember which is which.
(Reminds of a time when I was an academic and my co-author, in a paper we
wrote, used the phrase 'inter alia' and caused me great puzzlement, until it
dawned on me that he must have confused it with 'mutatis mutandis'. He
didn't want to follow my advice and use English instead, though!) The fact
that they may be quicker for the author shouldn't be a consideration - you
could always use AutoCorrect to replace the short forms with the long ones
if that's really a concern. So, yes, I think I will add these to the list
and stop using them myself. 

As for 'via' - well, I think that's OK in its geographical meaning (London
to Sydney via Los Angeles), but I dislike when people use it as a fancy
substitute for an ordinary word like 'through'.

I'm reluctant to include 'and/or', especially having been caught out using
it myself, though I agree that its use should be severely limited. I imagine
in technical contexts it could supply needed precision occasionally, though.
Maybe I should just say that in an appropriate entry.

The 'steep learning curve' is also something I never really thought about.
I'd naturally think of the learning curve as plotting amount learnt against
time, in which case, as Brian C said, it's really a shallow curve in cases
where you need a lot of time to master the basics. Or is there some other
way to visualise a 'learning curve'? Oh yes, I just did some research on the
Web - in psychology researchers apparently plot time taken to master each
step of a series measured over time against the elapsed time. The learning
curve would then *descend* steeply if the initial steps are hard but
subsequent ones quickly become easier.

Now to Mr Granat. 

Thank you for reporting that the page looks OK in Opera 8. The last version
of Opera that I tried didn't handle JavaScript too well, but I don't
remember the version number. I should try Opera 8. 

Oh, and the moving ant on my home page? Just a bit of fun really - do you
remember that thing called fun? But it also served as an exercise in using
JavaScript for animation. He does turn around (I think it's a 'he') when he
finally reaches the edge of the page - if you wait long enough - but seems
unable to head back to the right again. The Adults Only link (mention of
that should encourage people to visit!) is also an exercise to test my
JavaScript, based on an email joke.

Yes, I did check out Bill Bryson's Dictionary of Difficult Words - in fact,
I think it may have been after you mentioned it some time ago. A nice book -
but I only borrowed it from the library, so can't use it from day to day.

Thanks again to all respondents

Howard

-------------------------------
     Howard L. Silcock
      Technical Writer
Project Office - Infrastructure
    Department of Defence
       (02) 626 58828  
-------------------------------



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