Somebody else who despises pencil-neck double-talk...

Eric Gunnerson, has a very true post about how many of those who manage or participate in software development have caught the ‘lets post-modernise our language to pretend we’re innovating, rather then give an extra effort to clarify our thinking’ bug. Lately, I have been bending poor Kerry’s ear about this to the extent that I am now categorised as a grumpy old man. Not that I care what the world thinks, but I think that language has more value if it is clear.

But, you tell me, which of the following alternatives makes more sense:

• ‘newborn services department’ or ‘maternity ward’

• ‘waste transfer depot’ or ‘dump’

• ‘personalized, post-branded attentionstream’ or ‘blog’

Now, I may be revealing my Anglosaxon roots, but I think that this is another form of frenchifying words to make them seem more poncy.

It’s great for recreation, but not a good way to get my attention[stream] at least.