I am trying to think of an instance where I've used "might", and I think I've avoided it precisely because it trips me up, making me question whether it's the right choice of words.
I tend to use this construction: "If you wish to aggravate the fintoozler, you can..." instead of "You might wish to aggravate the fintoozler..." The latter seems kind of flabby and weak to me. Chris -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Charles Beck Sent: Monday, November 24, 2008 7:19 AM To: TCP@techcommpros.com Subject: Re: [TCP] Word choice: Might or May? Kevin actually makes the point I was about to. I was not talking about a situation in which "something 'might' happen". Even if I'm not sure that things are going to work the way they're supposed to in reality, I always say "something happens". [And note that I also do not say "will happen"-more or less personal preference, but I almost never use future tense either, if I can possibly avoid it.] I use the word "might" to tell the user that it is something optional, usually. The user might or might NOT want to do whatever it is. IOW, we're exploring options. This is often content that is included in a Tip. I use the word "can" to tell the user that it is something they can do. Again, usually something optional, though the emphasis in this kind of case is to let the user know that it is *possible* to do something. And I will risk arousing ire by reiterating that I cannot think of a single instance in which one of these two words, in telling a user that something can be done, is not preferable to the word "may". Good discussion here. Chuck -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of McLauchlan, Kevin Sent: Monday, November 24, 2008 09:50 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Sharon Burton; John Bell; TCP@techcommpros.com Subject: Re: [TCP] Word choice: Might or May? I disagree with Sharon and Paula completely... OK, no I don't. I just wanted to say that. Unless I was being sarcastic, which is rarely good in a technical document, I would not tell the reader that if s/he performed some action then some result "might" happen. In the past, I actually have threatened to do that in internal discussions with developers and their managers when they were being too "iffy" about this or that issue... but I've never gone through with it. (Yes, I'm a big chicken, but it happens that the offenders saw the error of their ways and didn't call me on it. :-) However, in situations where there are several optional choices that the reader can make, and various scenarios - perhaps some known and others not necessarily known - I choose "might". "Depending on your organization's security policies and regulatory environment, you might <need | wish> to invoke function X." That's the situation about which John B was asking in his original post. I wouldn't use "may", because the reader is being given non-binding suggestions or told of possibilities that they might like to explore... not being given permission. Once they own our product, they don't need permission. Now, may I please leave the room? Cheers, - Kevin > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > On Behalf Of Paula R. Stern (WritePoint) > Sent: Saturday, November 22, 2008 1:32 PM > To: 'Sharon Burton'; 'John Bell'; TCP@techcommpros.com > Subject: Re: [TCP] Word choice: Might or May? > > I agree with Sharon completely. > > Might makes me wonder if it is going to happen as expected or not. Click > on > the window and it might open...gee, that doesn't work for me at all. > > May is acceptable, though I prefer can whenever/wherever possible. > > My absolute favorite came from an Israeli engineer who gave me a document > and asked me to "edit" it. He wrote "the user shall." > > I wrote him back and said - God shall...the rest of us can... > > Paula > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > On > Behalf Of Sharon Burton > Sent: Friday, November 21, 2008 6:15 PM > To: John Bell; TCP@techcommpros.com > Subject: Re: [TCP] Word choice: Might or May? > > How about "You can also..." > > I avoid may or might, as "may" can imply permission. "Might" can imply it > could happen but we really aren't sure. Call us if it does because we > never actually got it to work reliably. We'd love to know what you did > to make > it > work. > > ;-) > > sharon > > Sharon Burton > Product Manager > MadCap Software > [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Cell: 951-202-0813 > Home Office: 951-369-8590 > http://madcapsoftware.wordpress.com/ > <http://madcapsoftware.wordpress.com/> > > ________________________________ > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] on behalf of John Bell > Sent: Fri 11/21/2008 8:05 AM > To: TCP@techcommpros.com > Subject: [TCP] Word choice: Might or May? > > > > I'm trying to determine which is the best word to use: Might or May. > > I am writing about determining which records get displayed based on > start and end dates. At the end I want to offer the following > suggestion: > > You may/might want to set the date range to your current month, > quarter, or sales quota period. > > What's your choice (or complete re-write)? > > Thanks! > --- John B. > The information contained in this electronic mail transmission may be privileged and confidential, and therefore, protected from disclosure. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by replying to this message and deleting it from your computer without copying or disclosing it. ______________________________________________ ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals. 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