An alternative to saying 'users' when describing features
I'm creating some copy describing new web-app features for a number of different audiences (users, managers of sections of the site, owners of sub-sites which use our platform etc.).
I'm finding myself using 'users' constantly:
"Users will now be able to..."
"...opens up the creation of $feature to users..."
"...excited to see the creative ways our users will..."
I'm getting sick of the word. It feels ugly to me, and a bit jargony, and sort of unfriendly.
Any good alternatives?
In some cases I can replace 'users' with 'you'. But for two of these pieces, I'm addressing audiences who wont be using the features themselves, so the second person wont be appropriate.
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Talk to the user, rather than about the user. Unless "the User" is someone other than the person reading your work.
I think users appreciate it more when it seems like the writer understands their problems and wants to help them be successful.
There's also the possibility of confusion if you talk about "the user" -- with potential safety implications: Exactly who is supposed to do what, when?
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When dealing with company people, I like to use colleague, associate, employee, coworker, etc. When dealing with customers, I like to say, customers, clients, vendors, prospective customer, etc.
For business writing, I feel it's very important to establish the relationship context of the interaction.
I might say something like this: "When a database administrator performs the nightly backup, the customer will either see delayed data or be alerted that the system is unavailable for maintenance. "
If it's a manual for the end user, I say "You": If you need to save at this point, click the "Save" on the upper right.
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/2716. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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