Computer Weekly Editor's Blog

Dear editor,

Re: IP Version 6 switches on

After reading this article, I had to double-check the front cover of the edition. I was reassured to find it still bears the strap-line "Working for IT professionals".

Now, I appreciate that not every "IT professional" is a network specialist, but your use of terms like "internet telephone numbers" and "master address books" made me feel that the article was pitched more at a "Janet and John Go Networking" level than at that of "IT professionals".

More important than any mere feeling of being talked-down to, though, is that the level of over-simplification means you've ended up misdescribing what has happened; these "internet telephone numbers" haven't been "activated"; they have been "active" for ages, and all that is happening now is that they are being "listed" in the "phone book" for the first time.

Did something go wrong here, or is this really the level at which your house style guide recommends your authors to pitch their writing?

cheers,
DaveK

Dave

Many thanks for your comment. I can ensure you it's not house style to in anyway talk down to our readers, but we do have to write for a broad church, who all have different levels of technical understanding.

I will pass on your comments to the article's author.

regards

James