Re: [Usability] "About" menu items galore...

[Alan Horkan <horkana maths tcd ie>]

On Thu, 21 Jul 2005, Shaun McCance wrote:

> Date: Thu, 21 Jul 2005 17:13:27 -0500
> From: Shaun McCance <shaunm gmail com>
> To: Alan Horkan <horkana maths tcd ie>
> Cc: Jason Hoover <jasonhoover verizon net>, usability gnome org
> Subject: Re: [Usability] "About" menu items galore...
>
> On Thu, 2005-07-21 at 11:52 +0100, Alan Horkan wrote:
> > On Thu, 21 Jul 2005, Shaun McCance wrote:
> > > 4) Titlepage is a word.
> >
> > Or it is is two words, which I think was the original point being made.
> >
> > There must be lots of really good German programmers because I cannot
> > think why so many developers have a fascination with creating new compound
> > words.  Sure it is fine in German and in compound words like website occur
> > in common usage a lot but web site is marginally easier to read and keeps
> > spellcheckers happy so I tend to split the compound words where the
> > spellchecker disagrees with me.
>
> The one-word variant is in Webster.  Whether or not it's the preferred
> form to use is another question.  All you have to do is grap a copy of
> the Chicago Manual of Style and find its recommendation.  In fact, I'll
> bet it even recommends "title page".  But it is in the dictionary.
>
> And please, let's not blame the modern German-speaking programmer for

I wasn't meant to sound like blame, I love how German speakers create new
words for everything.  Then we English speakers can steal them when we
need very specific words like Zeitgeist or Schadenfraude which sound far
more interesting and intelligent than simpler more straighforward English
terms.

The problem is I think complicated and precisely expressive words are
great in literature but not quite so appropriate in Computer Interfaces.

- Alan

P.S. I love tangents.