Good Webwriting: Small Latin and Less Geek

...thou hadst small Latin, and less Greek." — Ben Jonson, "To My Beloved, the Author, Mr. William Shakespeare."

Over a century ago, Oscar Wilde observed that the English and the Americans are two great nations, divided by the same language.

That language is now the lingua franca of the Web, and it threatens to divide us even more. The problem for us as writers is that Web English has many dialects, and no single dialect is dominant. What's worse, even longtime Web residents don't always know the dialects of their neighbors.

For example, I picked up the term "graybar land" years ago as a slang term for the dead time when you're waiting for a page to download. But when I used it in an article for a Web-design magazine, it was unfamiliar to the editor and presumably to many of her readers. So out it went.

The Accents of the Web
Webwriting has a strong accent from the computer geeks who first pioneered it. (I define "geeks" as people who love their jobs, sometimes to the exclusion of everything else.) They wrote (alas) pretty much as they spoke. Sometimes their terms were vivid and expressive; too often, those terms were dull and (to use a geekism) kludgy. We don't see "This site under construction" or "point your browser" any more, but we do see terms like "check it out."

The problem with dialects and slang is that they both include and exclude. Every occupational group has its shop talk and technical terminology. Using the group's dialect gives its members a sense of belonging, and sets the group apart from ignorant outsiders.

When the group enjoys some kind of general social status, whether scientists or rappers, others pick up the dialect to share in the prestige. Scientists, engineers and bureaucrats are fond of Latinate terms when plain Anglo-Saxon would be far clearer. But those groups don't want to be clear to the riffraff.

The same is true of Web language, whether it's slang or technical terms. But as content developers, we have an interest in welcoming newcomers to the Web and making them feel at home. We've also got a professional stake in using clear language. Yet we've picked up, sometimes unconsciously, Web terms that newcomers won't understand—terms that will exclude them.

Blamestorming the Alpha Geek
For example, would your alpha geek be the target of a blamestorm if your e-biz site isn't kewl enough for the SoHo market? That is, would your organization's top computer expert suffer criticism from colleagues if your Web-based business's site isn't attractive enough for the small-office/ home-office market?

Geeks love long technical terms, especially as abbreviations: Does your e-biz offer a WML FAQ for WAP users in PDF format? That is, does your Web-based business offer a list of frequently asked questions about Wireless Markup Language for Wireless Application Protocol users (who access the Web over mobile phones and pagers), in portable document format (readable on any computer with Adobe Acrobat)?

For fuller definitions of Web abbreviations, see Webopedia, Netlingo, and Jargon File Resources.

Too Much Bizbabble
Compounding the problems of Latinate technical language and geek dialect is the fondness of too many corporate Web sponsors for a kind of bizbabble. Such companies don't sell products or services; they provide "solutions." They "evolve the company" or "grow the business." They can't use a noun without an adjective like ultimate, bleeding-edge, total, virtual, world-class, award-winning, incredible, or power.

At least one site, Buzzwhack, now conducts a constant battle (some would call it 24-7) against such expressions. Buzzwhack is currently appealing for help in finding a definition of "solutions." Let's all wish them well.

Well, if we really want to exclude people from our sites, geekism and bizbabble are great ways to do so. But if we really want to welcome new visitors and make them feel at home, we owe them the clearest, plainest English we can write. A century ago, business learned to call a letter a letter, and not a "favor." It learned to say "this month" instead of "instant."

Surely 21st-century Webwriters can aspire to Oscar Wilde's 19th-century clarity, if not to his wit.

Comments

[Haemi]

I once received an e-mail stating, "You've been Googlewhacked" from a person I did not know. I responded to inquire on what "googlewhacking" was, but no response. Clarity, especially is important in the written medium -- I agree.

[Scott Griffith]

You write that it is Wilde who is responsible for that old saw about Britian and the US being two nations divided by the same language. I've been told it was Churchill (doubtful) and that it was Shaw. Can you provide a citation to prove who said it? Good luck. SG