GNU bug report logs - #40011
Remove unnecessary abbreviations from documentation

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From: Drew Adams <drew.adams <at> oracle.com>
To: Stefan Kangas <stefan <at> marxist.se>
Cc: 40011 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>, rms <at> gnu.org
Subject: bug#40011: Remove unnecessary abbreviations from documentation
Date: Mon, 27 Apr 2020 09:41:11 -0700 (PDT)

> > (minor nit)
> >
> > * "like"       -> "such as"
> > * "more clear" -> "clearer"
> 
> Thanks.  As you might know, English is a
> second language for me so I really
> appreciate this kind of input.

You're welcome.  And this is very minor.
Colloquially many (most?) people use "like"
when they really mean "such as".

The difference is that "such as" includes
those explicit examples - it says "these
and others (like them)"; whereas "like"
says "things similar to these things".

"Like" doesn't explicitly include those
things; it says to use them to get an idea
of what kind of things might be included.

1. The award was given to people like
George Washington.

2. The award was given to people such as
George Washington.

#1 says that people with characteristics
like GW got the award.  #2 says that GW is
an example of the people who got the award.
In case #2, GW got the award.

---

There's nothing wrong with "more clear".
But "clearer" is usually clearer. ;-)

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