R C C P A D SQUISHYCOPY O K OY H D.M. Nilloughby Nichita, NCR C o r p o r a t i o n , Kansas As p u r v e y o r s of the language, claiming to be communication experts, we n e e d t o h e a l o u r selves of a growing disease. This disease, becoming prevalent with the spread of computer technology, is the dreaded "use of jargon." Fellow communicators, m a n y o f us are using the terms "hardcopy" and "softcop y " w h e n we s p e a k o f c o m p u t e r documentation. (A refresher for those of you who have not been exposed: "hardcopy" is the vogue term for printed documentation, and "softcopy" is the vogue term for documentation displayed on a video display unit.) Pause to think about the real these terms. (After all, words of ideas and objects...right?) meaning of are symbols How c a n d o c - umentation printed on paper be considered hard? Nhen I touch paper, my f i n g e r s tell me "soft." Perhaps the originator of the term was thinking of the binder the paper is stored in. Now t a k e t h e o t h e r term, "softcopy.W Tell me - - j u s t how soft are those displayed characters and figures? For that matter, when was the last time you grabbed hold of some light to see how soft it is? If y o u p l a n to use the terms "hardcopy" and "softcopy," you should at least reverse their meanings. Paper is soft, and the video display screen (the tangible part of displayed characters) is hard. I propose a simple solution to this earth-shaking problem of terminology. To appear as the computer expert in your group (showing yourself as a computer tyro to real computer experts), continue to use "hardcopy" and "softcopy" in their usual sense. To a p p e a r as a real communicator (which is easier on our listeners and readers), use "printed documentation" and "displayed documentation." REVIEWS Care & Attention Pinally Come to Screen Pormat Design Nilbert O. G a l i t z ' s Handbook of Screen Format Design (Nellesley, Massachusetts: Q.E.D. Information Sciences Inc. 180 Linden Street, ISBN 0-89435-052-8, Second Printing, Harch 1982 Reviewed Arizona b y R. J o h n B r o c k m a n , State University, Tempe, Arizona Mr. Galitz directs a seminar applying communication and psychology principles to screen format design, and this book is the manual used during the course. Although I haven't taken Mr. Galitz's Seminar, I think I really would like to because this handbook is excellent. Although it doesn't disclose many novel ideas--I think I have read over many of his suggestions in a dozen different publications--it does seem to pull together the consensus of experienced opinion and some of the best of recent research. The first couple of chapters cover general topics in screen design: human considerations, hardware considerations, software considerations, design con3istency, standards, and tradeoffs. In general, the basic principle espoused by this book is that A well-designed screen format can increase human processing speed, reduce human errors, and speed computer processing time. A poorly designed screen will have the opposite effect; it will decrease human processing speed, provoke human mistakes, and complicate machine operations. A well-designed screen, then, will increase human productivity, and a poorly designed screen will degrade it. (page 1) The last couple of chapters also deal with screen design in a general way: the effective use of color and the effective design of source documents to accompany online screens. The final chapters move from

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