On Mon, September 15, 2014 18:54, Paul Heinlein wrote: > On Mon, 15 Sep 2014, Valeri Galtsev wrote: > >> Am I the only one who is tempted to say: people, could you kindly >> start deciphering your abbreviations. I know, I know, computed >> science uses _that_ abbreviation for years. But we definitely have >> people without computer science degree (not me, I do have one ;-) on >> the list who will be happier to learn terms and abbreviations if it >> is mentioned what stands for what. > The general rule in English is that the first time any abbreviation, including a Three Letter Acronym (TLA), is introduced into a written document then the full term is used and the replacement shown in parentheses immediately thereafter. With all respect to those with Computer Science (CS) degrees, or Software engineering (SE) certifications, many of us are involved in multi-disciplinary professional activities and, as there are a limited number of letters, it is not uncommon for a single TLA to be heavily overloaded. As with programming, overloading is a practice fraught with possibilities for error. I would appreciate it very much if those who wish to use TLAs freely consider that what is the obvious meaning to them may not be so obvious to another whose fields of expertise are somewhat different. -- *** E-Mail is NOT a SECURE channel *** James B. Byrne mailto:ByrneJB at Harte-Lyne.ca Harte & Lyne Limited http://www.harte-lyne.ca 9 Brockley Drive vox: +1 905 561 1241 Hamilton, Ontario fax: +1 905 561 0757 Canada L8E 3C3