Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/11/23
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 03:15 PM 11/23/2006, R S wrote: >The International Zone is normally referred to as 'IZ' . >You'll find a lot of journalists hanging out there and they tend to refer >to >the IZ as the GZ (or 'Green Zone'). >Odds are the food was provided by KBR. Oh. Mads was referring to Iraq? Then the posting properly ought to have been so labeled. I am now just a recovering journalist and I fear that I do not speak babble well. Spell it out for us old guys who need to have things explained ... Avoid ALL acronyms, abbreviations, and initialisms unless you spell them out at first use, as in "the International Zone in Baghdad (hence, "IZ")" or "the Green Zone in Baghdad (hence, "GZ")" or "KBR (formerly a Halliburton subsidiary originally known as Kellogg, Root, and Brown (?))" or the like. The problem with using abbreviations is that they speak only to a few of those receiving the message. Clarity in communications is everything. Abbreviations impede clarity by restricting the exchange of information to "those in the know". And, for that matter, I can think of several "International Zones" in the world over the past half-century or so. So, yes, defining it as being in the Middle East would have been most helpful. How about having a SUBJECT line of "THANKSGIVING 2006 IN IRAQ" or the like? Clarity, clarity, clarity. Marc msmall@aya.yale.edu Cha robh b?s fir gun ghr?s fir!