"This is pre-release software" - mike's web log/comments

May 03, 2012 | "This is pre-release software" | 50049 hit(s)

You do want to remind your early adopters that they're dealing with things that are not completely baked. There are ways to do that, and there are other ways.

Here's us:

Disclaimer

This is a preliminary document and may be changed substantially prior to final commercial release of the software described herein.

Here's them:

Not for the faint of heart
Canary is designed for developers and early adopters, and can sometimes break down completely.

Nightly updates
Canary changes almost every day.

Gordon 15 May 12 - 3:41 AM

Any commentary for this? Do you think one way is better than an other?

mike 15 May 12 - 10:03 AM

Fair question. In general, I am in favor of plain language, which includes the text of disclaimers, warnings, etc. I find the latter example a more staightforward statement to users than the former.

There is ongoing debate in the legal community about whether legally binding (or nominally so) language can be plain-ified along the lines of the second example. Some folks in the legal profession are more comfortable with the former, on the grounds of precedent, i.e., the language has (at least theoretically) been tested. (An amusing book about this is The Party of the First Part: The Curious World of Legalese by Adam Freedman, who is reform minded in questions like these.)

You could say that the first example is aimed at protecting the issuer ("don't whine to us if things change"); the second example is aimed at informing the user ("watch it, this stuff is volatile").

I guess I'd be interested to hear other people's opinions.