git@vger.kernel.org mailing list mirror (one of many)
 help / color / mirror / code / Atom feed
From: Jeff King <peff@peff.net>
To: Varun Varada <varuncvarada@gmail.com>
Cc: "Michal Suchánek" <msuchanek@suse.de>, git@vger.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [PATCH] doc: replace jargon word "impact" with "effect"/"affect"
Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2021 19:01:51 -0400	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <YGzoX9OeWMKXpqtf@coredump.intra.peff.net> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <CAD2i4DDr3Ftk6RE8cA74iSsJTpC9nEb=Cqvr79pF51BpcWEnsA@mail.gmail.com>

On Tue, Apr 06, 2021 at 02:36:27PM -0500, Varun Varada wrote:

> > while using "will not impact" in an incorrect or unclear way may be a
> > problem the word "impact" in itself is not "jargon".
> 
> The word means "to have a strong or marked effect on" (v.) and "a
> strong or market influence" (n.) when used figuratively; it is not
> synonymous with "affect" and "effect", respectively, as shown even by
> all of the entries you've cited. Using it as such is the incorrect
> part, so those are the instances I've changed in the diff.

Er, is that true? From Michal's definitions:

> > From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :
> [...]
> >      2. To affect or influence, especially in a significant or

It literally uses "affect" to define it. The "especially significant"
does not apply to many, but I don't think that makes it necessarily
wrong to use impact to mean "affect".

Likewise:

> > From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) :
> [...]
> >       v 1: press or wedge together; pack together
> >       2: have an effect upon; "Will the new rules affect me?" [syn:
> >          affect, impact, bear upon, bear on, touch on,
> >          touch]

That is likewise listing "impact" and "affect" as synonyms.

I do agree the word is over-used in some forms of writing, but I don't
find anything at all confusing or wrong about the uses that you changed
in your patch. I am a native speaker of English. I'm open to the
argument that non-native speakers may be more confused by the word. But
this seems like mostly a style preference thing, and I'd generally
prefer to leave the contributions and style of the original writers
intact unless there is a good reason not to.

Such changes are doubly unwanted in cases like this:

> --- a/compat/nedmalloc/malloc.c.h
> +++ b/compat/nedmalloc/malloc.c.h
> @@ -2952,7 +2952,7 @@ static size_t traverse_and_check(mstate m);
>  #endif /* (FOOTERS && !INSECURE) */
> 
> 
> -/* In gcc, use __builtin_expect to minimize impact of checks */
> +/* In gcc, use __builtin_expect to minimize affect of checks */
>  #if !INSECURE
>  #if defined(__GNUC__) && __GNUC__ >= 3
>  #define RTCHECK(e)  __builtin_expect(e, 1)

where the text is imported from another project, and we'd prefer to stay
as close to their version as possible (e.g., to avoid unnecessary
conflicts when pulling in new versions).

Also, this one should be "effect" anyway, as it is a noun.

-Peff

  reply	other threads:[~2021-04-06 23:01 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 68+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
2021-04-05 21:48 [PATCH] doc: replace jargon word "impact" with "effect"/"affect" Varun Varada
2021-04-06  9:24 ` Michal Suchánek
2021-04-06 19:36   ` Varun Varada
2021-04-06 23:01     ` Jeff King [this message]
2021-04-07  0:06       ` Varun Varada
2021-04-28  0:39         ` Varun Varada
2021-04-28  8:58           ` Michal Suchánek
2021-04-28 18:15             ` Varun Varada
2021-04-28 18:49               ` Michal Suchánek
2021-04-30  1:51                 ` Varun Varada
2021-04-30  7:59                   ` Michal Suchánek
2021-05-10 17:19                     ` Varun Varada
2021-05-10 17:35                       ` Michal Suchánek
2021-05-10 18:37                         ` Varun Varada
2021-05-11 10:43                           ` Michal Suchánek
2021-05-11 13:22                             ` Junio C Hamano
2021-05-12  3:02                               ` Felipe Contreras
2021-05-12  2:59                             ` Felipe Contreras
2021-05-12  2:48                         ` Felipe Contreras
2021-05-12  2:38                 ` Felipe Contreras
2021-05-12  2:34             ` Felipe Contreras
2021-05-12  2:24       ` Felipe Contreras
2021-05-11 19:59     ` Felipe Contreras
2021-05-11 20:25       ` Michal Suchánek
2021-05-11 21:38         ` Varun Varada
2021-05-12  3:43           ` Felipe Contreras
2021-05-12  4:09             ` Michal Suchánek
2021-05-12  5:13               ` Felipe Contreras
2021-05-12  6:47                 ` Michal Suchánek
2021-05-12  9:06                   ` Felipe Contreras
2021-05-12 10:08                     ` Michal Suchánek
2021-05-12 10:33                       ` Michal Suchánek
2021-05-12 11:05                       ` Felipe Contreras
2021-05-12 11:20                         ` Michal Suchánek
2021-05-12 11:45                           ` Robert P. J. Day
2021-05-12 15:19                             ` Kerry, Richard
2021-05-12 16:47                   ` Varun Varada
2021-05-12 17:01                     ` Michal Suchánek
2021-05-12 17:32                       ` Felipe Contreras
2021-05-12 18:04                         ` Michal Suchánek
2021-05-12 19:42                           ` Felipe Contreras
2021-05-13  7:46                             ` Michal Suchánek
2021-05-13  8:28                               ` Felipe Contreras
2021-05-13  8:55                               ` Robert Coup
2021-05-13  9:48                                 ` Michal Suchánek
2021-05-13  9:59                                   ` Felipe Contreras
2021-05-26 23:49                                   ` Varun Varada
2021-05-27 11:46                                     ` Michal Suchánek
2021-05-27 14:08                                       ` Felipe Contreras
2021-05-27 14:35                                         ` Michal Suchánek
2021-05-27 16:43                                           ` Felipe Contreras
2021-06-12 23:13                                           ` Varun Varada
2021-06-13 11:40                                             ` Michal Suchánek
2021-06-13 14:06                                               ` Felipe Contreras
2021-06-13 16:28                                                 ` Michal Suchánek
2021-06-13 17:12                                                   ` Felipe Contreras
2021-05-12 22:52                       ` Varun Varada
2021-05-13  6:19                         ` Felipe Contreras
2021-05-12  3:21         ` Felipe Contreras
2021-05-11 19:21   ` Felipe Contreras
2021-05-11 19:57     ` Michal Suchánek
2021-05-12  3:09       ` Felipe Contreras
2021-05-12  4:11         ` Michal Suchánek
2021-05-12  5:22           ` Felipe Contreras
2021-05-12 16:39           ` Varun Varada
2021-05-13 10:40 ` Philip Oakley
2021-05-26 23:52   ` Varun Varada
2021-05-27 11:20     ` Philip Oakley

Reply instructions:

You may reply publicly to this message via plain-text email
using any one of the following methods:

* Save the following mbox file, import it into your mail client,
  and reply-to-all from there: mbox

  Avoid top-posting and favor interleaved quoting:
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posting_style#Interleaved_style

  List information: http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html

* Reply using the --to, --cc, and --in-reply-to
  switches of git-send-email(1):

  git send-email \
    --in-reply-to=YGzoX9OeWMKXpqtf@coredump.intra.peff.net \
    --to=peff@peff.net \
    --cc=git@vger.kernel.org \
    --cc=msuchanek@suse.de \
    --cc=varuncvarada@gmail.com \
    /path/to/YOUR_REPLY

  https://kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/git-send-email.html

* If your mail client supports setting the In-Reply-To header
  via mailto: links, try the mailto: link
Be sure your reply has a Subject: header at the top and a blank line before the message body.
Code repositories for project(s) associated with this public inbox

	https://80x24.org/mirrors/git.git

This is a public inbox, see mirroring instructions
for how to clone and mirror all data and code used for this inbox;
as well as URLs for read-only IMAP folder(s) and NNTP newsgroup(s).