Designer's notes

[oyvteig]

Sirs

I have written a few "Designer's notes":
"(-: A computer (embedded (real-time)) programmer's notes "
which I believe have had no readers so far!

If anybody finds them interesting or have comments, I'd
be glad to hear from you.

See http://home.no.net/oyvteig/pub/notes

 

[Mark A. Odell]

Sirs

So there are no women C programmers? This is a newsgroup, not a letter
recipient.

I have written a few "Designer's notes":
"(-: A computer (embedded (real-time)) programmer's notes "
which I believe have had no readers so far!

If anybody finds them interesting or have comments, I'd
be glad to hear from you.

This would be better posted in comp.arch.embedded, eh?

 

[xarax]

So there are no women C programmers? This is a newsgroup, not a letter
recipient.

In English grammar, the masculine embraces the feminine. Use
of the masculine form implies inclusion of the feminine.

 

[Mark A. Odell]

In English grammar, the masculine embraces the feminine. Use
of the masculine form implies inclusion of the feminine.

I think "dear group" would have been just as easy.

 

[Christopher Benson-Manica]

In English grammar, the masculine embraces the feminine. Use
of the masculine form implies inclusion of the feminine.

*Formal* English grammar. "He" is still grammatically correct for a
person of unknown gender, but "he/she" is becoming the de facto
standard. I also don't believe "sir" is a synonym for "sir or madam."

 

[Alan Balmer]

*Formal* English grammar. "He" is still grammatically correct for a
person of unknown gender, but "he/she" is becoming the de facto
standard.

Not around here - I hardly ever see it, probably because it looks and
sounds so awkward.

I also don't believe "sir" is a synonym for "sir or madam."

No, but the OP didn't use that. He said "Sirs:" which is a correct
salutation when addressing unknowns.

 

[Christopher Benson-Manica]

Not around here - I hardly ever see it, probably because it looks and
sounds so awkward.

Given the gender makeup of this group, it isn't really an issue. I
think in formal contexts, however, "one" is to be preferred over "he,"
else one may be semi-justly accused of sexism.

No, but the OP didn't use that. He said "Sirs:" which is a correct
salutation when addressing unknowns.

Do you have a source for that? I wasn't of that impression.

 

[Alan Balmer]

Do you have a source for that? I wasn't of that impression.

When I was in school, it was taught as the proper salutation for
business letters when names were unknown. I don't have much time at
the moment, and a search on "forms of address" seems to give me only
how to address kings and presidents and such, but try a Google search
on "dear sirs" (with the quotes) to see lots of examples.

 

[glen herrmannsfeldt]

Alan Balmer wrote:

(snip)

No, but the OP didn't use that. He said "Sirs:" which is a correct
salutation when addressing unknowns.

Well, at least in the Dear sirs: form.

"To whom it may concern:" seems to be getting more popular,
but I think most people know what "Dear sirs:" means.

-- glen

 

[Richard Heathfield]

When I was in school, ["Sirs"] was taught as the proper salutation for
business letters when names were unknown. I don't have much time at
the moment, and a search on "forms of address" seems to give me only
how to address kings and presidents and such,

That is /so/ important.

 

[Mark McIntyre]

Do you have a source for that? I wasn't of that impression.

When addressing an unknown person, you begin "Dear sir" unless you're
writing to the newspapers, in which case you begin "Sir".

This is Common Knowledge amongst those of us with proper educations,
old boy, don'cha know, what?

 

[CBFalconer]

When I was in school, ["Sirs"] was taught as the proper salutation for
business letters when names were unknown. I don't have much time at
the moment, and a search on "forms of address" seems to give me only
how to address kings and presidents and such,

That is /so/ important.

He has an incomplete text. It should deal with addressing kings,
presidents, popes, bishops, me, and the hoi-palloi.

 

[oyvteig]

Sirs..

You are invited to give me in for more than a Sirs statement!

http://home.no.net/oyvteig/pub/notes/index.html
There's meant to be some comp.language.c valid stuff in there.
Or better comp.language.any iff it existed.

 

[Dan Pop]

Alan Balmer wrote:

(snip)



Well, at least in the Dear sirs: form.

"To whom it may concern:" seems to be getting more popular,
but I think most people know what "Dear sirs:" means.

"To whom it may concern:" doesn't look like a salutation to me.

Dan

 

[Alan Balmer]

When I was in school, ["Sirs"] was taught as the proper salutation for
business letters when names were unknown. I don't have much time at
the moment, and a search on "forms of address" seems to give me only
how to address kings and presidents and such,

That is /so/ important.

He has an incomplete text. It should deal with addressing kings,
presidents, popes, bishops, me, and the hoi-palloi.

You and the hoi-palloi might be in there, but I went to sleep before I
got that far

 

[Arthur J. O'Dwyer]

"To whom it may concern:" doesn't look like a salutation to me.

Not in the sense that "Good morning!" or "Halloo!" is a salutation,
but in the sense that "Dear sirs," or "To whom it may concern:" is
a salutation, yes it is. (IOW, sense 3 of the first definition from
Google, not sense 1.)
This is another of those times where I can't tell whether your
post is supposed to be humorous, or a real statement of ignorance
(in the "I never saw that" sense, not the "I'm stupid" sense, of
course).
"To whom it may concern" is IME getting less popular as a salutation,
even in correspondence in which it might once have been appropriate,
because it looks stuffy and impersonal. Maybe it's just that these
days, when you're taking all the "trouble" to write a letter, you're
expected to know who's going to be reading it, exactly (or, in the
case of letters to your elected officials, to at least *pretend* you
know who's going to read them).

-Arthur