amperser / proselint

A linter for prose.
http://proselint.com
BSD 3-Clause "New" or "Revised" License
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Clarify the message from "weasel_words.very" #1327

Open exhuma opened 1 year ago

exhuma commented 1 year ago

Currently, the error message reads:

Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very'; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.

This is misleading for two reasons:

  1. It suggests that I should write "damn" instead
  2. It suggests that my code-editor would automatically remove the word, which makes no sense whatsoever

As this was deeply puzzling to me (especially the "editor" part), I found the site linked in the source-code: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/08/29/substitute-damn/

On reading this, I see that the intention is to completely remove the word "very". And that with "editor" something else entirely was meant.

I suggest changing the error message to something like "Remove unnecessary use of the word 'very'" (imperative style, and non-ambiguous). The reference to the trivia behind this rule can be stored somewhere else.