Re: Legal text for review.

["Leal Tijerina y Asoc." <lta infosel net mx>]

UNSUBSCRIBE

Alexander Kirillov wrote:

> It may be right but frankly, who will ever read this section other
> than lawyers? And I do not care too much whether CAPS make it
> difficult to read for them or not :) For me, seeing LEGAL JUNK IN CAPS
> just makes it easier to see what parts I do not need to read at all.
>
> Sasha
>
> On Thu, Nov 15, 2001 at 03:46:08PM +0000, Pat Costello wrote:
> > believe me Kristin, I agree with you...I'm not defending the uppercasing...it's
> > not my decision to use uppercasing...someone with legal clout needs to make a
> > statement about this...it is not only a technical communication issue.
> >
> >
> > Pat
> >
> >
> > > Delivered-To: gnome-doc-list gnome org
> > > Subject: RE: Legal text for review.
> > > To: gnome-doc-list gnome org
> > > X-MIMETrack: Serialize by Router on D04NMS81/04/M/IBM(Release 5.0.8 |June 18,
> > 2001) at 11/15/2001 10:42:40 AM
> > > MIME-Version: 1.0
> > > X-BeenThere: gnome-doc-list gnome org
> > > X-Loop: gnome-doc-list gnome org
> > > X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.6
> > > List-Help: <mailto:gnome-doc-list-request gnome org?subject=help>
> > > List-Post: <mailto:gnome-doc-list gnome org>
> > > List-Subscribe: <http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnome-doc-list>,
> > <mailto:gnome-doc-list-request gnome org?subject=subscribe>
> > > List-Id: GNOME documentation issues <gnome-doc-list.gnome.org>
> > > List-Unsubscribe: <http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnome-doc-list>,
> > <mailto:gnome-doc-list-request gnome org?subject=unsubscribe>
> > > List-Archive: <http://mail.gnome.org/archives/gnome-doc-list/>
> > >
> > > I've just recently joined the GNOME documentation project (about when the
> > > discussion of the legal statement started).  I'm fairly familiar with the
> > > GNOME Style Guide, as I have reviewed my colleagues documents for adherence
> > > to GNOME style.  I guess my main argument against using all capital letters
> > > for the legal statements is that it goes against accepted documentation
> > > practices. Even the GNOME Style Guide states (in the section on "Grammar
> > > and Usage Guidelines for GNOME Documentation) that capitalization should
> > > not be used for emphasis.
> > >
> > > All caps text is difficult to read, and, as several other people have
> > > mentioned, it connotes screaming at the reader.  When text is in all
> > > capital letters, it appears as a big block.  Readers are unable to quickly
> > > distinguish one letter or word from another, so they generally don't read
> > > the text at all.  If the concern of the legal team is that people won't
> > > read the legal statement unless it is in all capital letters, I think they
> > > will be achieving the opposite effect.
> > >
> > > While I understand the origin of capital letters for legal statements, I
> > > don't think we should be looking to ancient Rome to justify our
> > > documentation practices.  Modern literature on technical communication
> > > would tell us that the importance of text is demonstrated by headings or
> > > its placement on the page.  I understand the need to protect writers and
> > > the corporations that employ them with effective legal statements, but,
> > > since informing the reader is the first goal of documentation, I don't
> > > think using antiquated documentation techniques serves any purpose.  We
> > > certainly can't ask other writers to adhere to the Style Guide if the GNOME
> > > User's Guide doesn't adhere to it.   I look forward to working with this
> > > team in the future, I appreciate you listening to my opinion
> > >
> > > Thanks,
> > > Kristin
> > >
> > > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> > > Kristin Thomas
> > > Linux Information Development
> > > Linux Technology Center
> > > Ph. (512) 838-4546
> > > T/L 678-4546
> > > Bldg. 908 1D002
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > gnome-doc-list mailing list
> > > gnome-doc-list gnome org
> > > http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnome-doc-list
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > gnome-doc-list mailing list
> > gnome-doc-list gnome org
> > http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnome-doc-list
> _______________________________________________
> gnome-doc-list mailing list
> gnome-doc-list gnome org
> http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnome-doc-list