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Technical writer here. I avoid saying something is "simple," because whether it's simple is subjective and is relative to the reader's background knowledge. So
by bob_roberts 5y ago
Technical writer here. I avoid saying something is "simple," because whether it's simple is subjective and is relative to the reader's background knowledge. So at best it's unhelpful, and at worst it can be insulting.
If you're stuck on a task, the last thing you want to hear is that it's really simple.
On the other hand, I would write that X is a simpler approach than Y, if I was comparing two possible approaches.
- thiht 5y agoSimple is the opposite of complex, not the opposite of hard. Saying something is simple has meaning, and it's not insulting.
- Dashron 5y agoIt's not a good feeling when you find something "simple" to be hard. Few tasks are easy when you're a new programmer still wrapping your head around conditionals. If my docs might be used by a new programmer I try to avoid alienating my users with the word simple.
- Kronen 5y agoThe real question and a better post than the original post would be: Are people living in the 21st Century too easily offended? But it's a rhetorical question...
- lovegoblin 5y ago> Simple is ... not the opposite of hard. ...yes it is? The word has multiple meanings. > free from complexity or difficulty [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/simple https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/simple] > involving minimal difficulty or effort [https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/simple https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/simple] etc
- thiht 5y agoWhen we say "simple", we use it as a way to say "not complex". If we want to say "not hard", we say "easy". Words should be used carefully or we end up with no word to say what we mean. That's why there's literally no word meaning what we want to say by "literally". But from context you can determine whether "literally" means "literally" or "figuratively". It's the same with "simple", you should assume it means "simple" and not "easy" in the case of a documentation where words are chosen carefully.