[python-committers] Initial Motivations & Affiliations page has been merged

[Steven D'Aprano]

On Mon, Oct 12, 2015 at 01:08:27PM +1000, Nick Coghlan wrote:
[...]
> I'll do another pass on that, swapping out the more formal terms (e.g.
> "disclose") for more common plain English equivalents (e.g.
> "publish"). If there are other particular phrases and words that seem
> out of place, please let me know, either directly or here in the
> thread, as I sometimes lose track of what counts as normal English and
> what's specifically corporate/institutional English :)

"Disclose" and "publish" are not synonyms, and "disclose" is common, 
plain English, not jargon or specifically corporate English. It's found 
in poetry!

    If I disclose my passion,
    Our friendship's an end.             
    --Addison, quoted in Webster's Dictionary (1913)

More importantly, it is a standard English idiom. For example, "disclose 
any conflicts of interest" is a clear sentence and a standard idiom, not 
jargon, not formal English, but precise. If you replace it with a word 
like "publish", you introduce uncertainty and reduce clarity. It's not 
clear what you mean by publish. Is a note in the personals section of 
the local newspaper good enough, or do I have to take out a full page 
advertisment in an international magazine?



-- 
Steve