Words to avoid?

[Dan McGarry]

Just a general note on the very thoughtful comments on this thread:

I work in a Least Developed Country in the South Pacific with mostly 
first-time computer users for whom English is often a third or fourth 
language. While most of them are extremely intelligent people, they 
often have difficulty with euphemistic vocabulary, or writing which 
assumes too much context.

I'd strongly suggest that, rather than simply discarding any word that 
seems geek-ish or alien to a casual computer user, we focus on choosing 
accessible terms and using them consistently.

An example: I've seen comments here suggesting that people know how to 
turn things on, so we don't need to specify the mechanics of a 
particular action. This in the context of checkboxes, etc. My experience 
is that this is not the case.

First-time computer users - especially those who have not had the 
benefit of a formal, western-style education - often do not realise that 
lists can scroll, or what checkboxes are for.

This is not an attempt to contradict anything that's been said so far, 
but simply to remind you all of the context in which the *majority of 
the world* operates. These are, it seems to me, the very people for whom 
Ubuntu is most important, and they should therefore not fall victim to 
assumptions that may be valid for the majority of well-educated computer 
users, but not for them.

So without suggesting that all documentation must work for sub- or 
illiterate individuals[*], I'd like to suggest to you all that the goal 
here is not euphemistic or assumption-laden language, but rather a 
lexicon that is simple, clear and unambiguous.

Regards,

----
[*] We're talking about language and context, not intelligence, after 
all. Most of the people I work with speak at least 3 languages very well!

-- 
Dan McGarry	it.psl at fsp.org.vu

IT Consultant
Community Communications Project