[OASIS Issue Tracker] Commented: (OFFICE-3451) Inappropriate use of"should"

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    [ http://tools.oasis-open.org/issues/browse/OFFICE-3451?page=com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.issuetabpanels:comment-tabpanel&focusedCommentId=21720#action_21720 ] 

Michael Brauer commented on OFFICE-3451:
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It may indeed be the case that a may also is not perfect, but it is anyway better than a should, since there is neither a requirement nor a recommendation that a certain formatting attribute is used for a particular object or style. A "may" is indeed somehow redundant, because the schema allows the formatting properties to be used with some style families. In so far, a may does not add much value.

I think this is one of the cases where it is clear what is meant, but where the formal definition of a "may" somehow causes trouble. I'm really not suggesting that we go back to the RFC keywords (that's not an option), but the fact that they use typographic convention that allow to differ between a formal may and an informal one has some advantages.

Anyway: What about: This attribute is evaluated for ... styles that are applied to a ... element. 

> Inappropriate use of "should"
> -----------------------------
>
>                 Key: OFFICE-3451
>                 URL: http://tools.oasis-open.org/issues/browse/OFFICE-3451
>             Project: OASIS Open Document Format for Office Applications (OpenDocument) TC
>          Issue Type: Bug
>          Components: Needs Discussion, Part 1 (Schema), Styles
>    Affects Versions: ODF 1.2 CD 05
>            Reporter: Andreas Guelzow 
>            Assignee: Patrick Durusau
>             Fix For: ODF 1.2 CD 06
>
>
> In may places in the draft we have statements as:
> " This attribute should be used within ... styles that are applied to a ... element. "
> It may be more correct to say:
> " This attribute may be used within ... styles that are applied to a ... element. "
> or possibly
> " This attribute may only be used within ... styles that are applied to a ... element. "

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