On Sat, Sep 04, 2021 at 09:28:14PM +0200, Ingo Schwarze wrote: > Hi Wilfried, > > wilfried.mei...@gmail.com wrote on Sat, Sep 04, 2021 at 08:20:59PM +0200: > > > Synopsis: Maverick word in the sort(1) manpage > > Category: documentation > [...] > > There is a superfluous word in the description of the --random-source > > option of the sort(1) manpage. The second sentence contains > > "will use produce" which probably should just be "will produce". > > Committed, thanks for reporting. > > While there, i also deleted the word "will". Manuals usually do not > need future tense, except in unusual situations. > > Yours, > Ingo > > > The paragraph now reads: > > --random-source=filename > For random sort, the contents of filename are used as the source > of the `seed' data for the hash function. Two invocations of > random sort with the same seed data produce the same result if > the input is also identical. By default, the arc4random_buf(3) > function is used instead. > > Hum... I've looked around at my own manpages. Actually, careful use of tenses tend to make documentation feel slightly less "dry" in a lot of cases, thus actually making it MORE readable in the end.
I'm not sure removing that specific "will" is a good idea. It's not future tense. It's (whatever it's called in English ?) that modal that says that this WILL predictably happen (instead of SHOULD or MAY) thus adding welcome emphasis instead of just saying things dryly like you do.
