GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 676562
The usage of "and" in the panels name is distracting and not optimal
Last modified: 2012-06-06 16:45:27 UTC
Using "&" not only would keep the names shorter but would also keep the user focused on the other words which compose the name.
Makes sense to me. I'd like to check with docs though.
We use "&" all the time in titles in the help (but never in running prose). It does save space, and I think it focuses your eyes on the important words. Consider a shopping list written as "milk and eggs and bacon and peanut butter and maple syrup and bread". It's harder to pick out the individual items at a glance than with "milk, eggs, bacon, peanut butter, maple syrup, bread". On the other hand, there's a potential for it being harder on non-native speakers. I don't think localization is a problem, because our translators are smart. But some people use their software in English, even when a localization exists. Non-native speakers sometimes have problems with big words, convoluted language, and odd punctuation. I don't think "&" is all that odd, but I don't have data to back me up. Controlled language advocates would probably tell you not to use it. I'm not a controlled language advocate.
commit 1261d73821529d5b789956fb2d1b69a8003f49ce Author: Bastien Nocera <hadess@hadess.net> Date: Wed Jun 6 17:44:57 2012 +0100 mouse: Use '&' instead of 'and' Using "&" not only keeps the names shorter but would also keeps the user focused on the other words which compose the name. https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=676562 commit d07be14ba05b6110c5b4f1470bfda58504b84d5b Author: Bastien Nocera <hadess@hadess.net> Date: Wed Jun 6 17:44:49 2012 +0100 region: Use '&' instead of 'and' Using "&" not only keeps the names shorter but would also keeps the user focused on the other words which compose the name. https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=676562 commit 8aca1c2090c2e02a376458f3321af7845ef97895 Author: Bastien Nocera <hadess@hadess.net> Date: Wed Jun 6 17:44:38 2012 +0100 screen: Use '&' instead of 'and' Using "&" not only keeps the names shorter but would also keeps the user focused on the other words which compose the name. https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=676562 commit a4475970eeca23e7d6af965106dcf4b847f7d6bb Author: Bastien Nocera <hadess@hadess.net> Date: Wed Jun 6 17:43:47 2012 +0100 datetime: Use '&' instead of 'and' Using "&" not only keeps the names shorter but would also keeps the user focused on the other words which compose the name. https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=676562