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“You should consider using this in your requirements” implies that this is not a hard rule, it’s just an ignorable suggestion. It would be interesting to audit
by randomifcpfan 2y ago
“You should consider using this in your requirements” implies that this is not a hard rule, it’s just an ignorable suggestion. It would be interesting to audit gov.uk web pages over time to see whether this advice is being followed.
- etothepii 2y agoDon't forget the rules of British English that make it very clear that the grammatical construction: "you should consider" means "you must in all circumstances save for the immediate alternate outcome being a genocide."
- randomifcpfan 2y agoThanks for explaining! That’s quite different from the US English (and RFC English) meaning of “should”.
- etothepii 2y agoThis translation guide is usually helpful. https://polish2english.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/55551980-anglo-eu-translation-guide1.pdf https://polish2english.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/55551980-... I'm afraid I don't know what RFC English is and neither does Google.
- valley_guy_12 2y agoHuh, for me the very first non-ad result for googleing RFC English is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Request_for_Comments https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Request_for_Comments, which is the correct citation.
- etothepii 2y agoFor me it was to do with Rugby Football.
- layer8 2y agoTo be fair, here is the RFC meaning: SHOULD This word, or the adjective "RECOMMENDED", mean that there may exist valid reasons in particular circumstances to ignore a particular item, but the full implications must be understood and carefully weighed before choosing a different course. It means you can’t simply ignore it, and instead have to have compelling reasons to justify any deviation.
- valley_guy_12 2y agoUnfortunately, in many organizations, "the library we use doesn't follow this recommendation" is a valid compelling reason. Which means that in practice "SHOULD" effectively means "WOULD BE NICE IF".
- philipwhiuk 2y agoHaving > You should consider Is Gov UK's way of allowing people internally to point to it and say 'Well, did you consider it?'. UK Digital don't have any direct power to force change - they have to use sensible advice and internal process to encourage better design.