Re: [PATCH] doc: replace jargon word "impact" with "effect"/"affect"

Michal Suchánek wrote:

On Tue, May 11, 2021 at 02:59:32PM -0500, Felipe Contreras wrote:

quoted

Varun Varada wrote:

quoted

On Tue, 6 Apr 2021 at 04:24, Michal Suchánek [off-list ref] wrote:

quoted

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.

There are two ways impact can be used as a verb: transitive and
intransitive, but git doesn't seem to be using the intransitive form. In
the transitive form it usually means to strike "the car impacted the
tree". But it can also mean to have a desired effect "reducing CO2
emissions impacted climate change".

I don't know where you find the 'desired' effect meaning. Certainly none
of the dictionaries I consulted at random provides such definition.

You yourself consulted Merriam-Webster [1]:

  impact _verb_
  : to have a direct effect or impact on : impinge on

Did you not? [2]

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None of these are used in the documentation, we have things like:

  the index does not impact the outcome

Which is clearly wrong (unless we are talking about possitive outcome of
the outcome, which makes no sense).

It is not clearly wrong. To me it makes perfect sense. If you want to
claim it's wrong please provide a source for your claim.

Merriam-Webster [1].

quoted

As a noun it can mean a siginificant or major effect: "the impact of
science".

However, the documentation is not using it that way:

  the runtime impact of tracking all omitted objects

The noun usage is less wrong than the verb usage, but it's still wrong.

Why is that wrong?

Because it's not a "a significant or major effect" [1].

How did you infer that the effect is insignificant or minor?

I did not.

If I claim temperature $x is not hot, that doesn't mean I'm claiming
it's cold.

In fact while some dictionaries list 'impact' as 'have strong effect'
the Oxford dicrionary lists is as simply synonymous to 'affect'.

Synonymous doesn't mean equal. In fact, the Oxford dictionary defines
"impact" as [3]:

 the powerful effect that something has on somebody/something

Note: *powerful*.

quoted

But why bother? The word "affect" is a much superior choice.

Why bother with a chenge at all?

Because it's better.

Do you have any evidence that it's worse?

[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impact
[2] https://lore.kernel.org/git/20210406092440.GZ6564@kitsune.suse.cz/ (local)
[3] https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/impact_1

-- 
Felipe Contreras