[Sussex] Do we confuse you?

[John D.]

On Fri, 2005-04-08 at 09:43 +0100, Geoffrey J. Teale wrote:

> > There is a Campaign group called "The Campaign for Plain
> > English" and even their title is a clear statement of what they wish
> > to achieve. In Ten years of campaigning however they have made little
> > real impact on how people are talking and communicating between
> > eachother.  
> ----- %< ---------
> 
> Interesting.  My wife is a member of a similar group who are active in
> the legal profession.  Indeed the law is an area where "jargon" in the
> form of latin and contracted words (like "herewithinafter") have
> become such an issue that they are basically outlawed now.  Even so
> training solicitors to write in a clear manner is major task.

erm, I also seem to recall that ComputerActive mag's use of the "CPEs"
crystal mark, may have gone someway in helping it become the UKs largest
circulation computer/IT mag.

Sure, it's not gonna be of much interest to most here at the SLUG list,
but it does have it's uses (ha, it gives me a number of opportunities to
send the regular "Use Linux/why not" etc type emails), if only to show
how even vaguely technical issues CAN be explained in "plain english".

Though I'm pleasantly suprised to hear that the legal world have an
equivalent of the CPE. I've always presumed that the whole point of
legal draughtsmen writing is such a way was more to do with the self
serving nature of the Law Society (or the BMA/GMC in a similar fashion)
and vested interest (Ker-ching $$$£££$$$ etc), or perhaps I'm just being
too cynical!

Any group in the legal world who are aiming at concisness/clarity within
"things legal" deserve a pat on the back for their efforts, though I
also suspect that they've set themselves one hell of a big mountain to
climb.

regards

John D.