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Q&A How much humour is effective in technical documentation?

The Microsoft Manual of Style puts it well: Don’t try to be funny. Jokes, slang, and sarcasm are context-specific and hard to translate and localize. What’s funny to you might offend or alienat...

posted 7y ago by System‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T08:03:16Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/33527
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T08:03:16Z (almost 5 years ago)
The _Microsoft Manual of Style_ puts it well:

> **Don’t try to be funny.** Jokes, slang, and sarcasm are context-specific and hard to translate and localize. What’s funny to you might offend or alienate some portion of your audience, so it’s best to avoid these rhetorical approaches.

The _Dummies_ books are an exception to the rule, but people who buy them are a self-selecting audience.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2018-01-23T21:18:43Z (almost 7 years ago)
Original score: 19