Timeline for SHALL vs. MUST in technical documents
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
14 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Oct 7, 2021 at 7:34 | history | edited | CommunityBot |
replaced https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc with https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc
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| Feb 17, 2021 at 14:57 | answer | added | chris | timeline score: 0 | |
| Mar 26, 2020 at 3:00 | history | tweeted | twitter.com/StackEnglishLL/status/1243009908913643520 | ||
| Mar 26, 2020 at 0:40 | answer | added | user110774 | timeline score: 0 | |
| Jul 13, 2018 at 7:03 | vote | accept | guest_user | ||
| Jul 13, 2018 at 1:22 | comment | added | J.R.♦ | Requirement specifications have their own jargon. See, for example, this document. It's probably best to follow the conventions of your particular field and organization. | |
| Jul 12, 2018 at 15:42 | answer | added | James K | timeline score: 1 | |
| Jul 12, 2018 at 13:51 | comment | added | James K | "For our customers"? Usually it is the customer that writes the specification. Do you mean "For our suppliers" or are you talking about technical documentation? | |
| Jul 12, 2018 at 13:50 | answer | added | James K | timeline score: 4 | |
| Jul 12, 2018 at 13:17 | comment | added | guest_user | @Jason I suspected that doubt could pop up. The point is that such requirements should be read as "If you want to achieve X, every car MUST have a key". X could be "sell cars in insecure countries", and the client could say "ok, I don't want that" without a problem. So, the document is not a law or a standard, but merely a recommendation. | |
| Jul 12, 2018 at 13:13 | comment | added | Jason Bassford | As for the actual question, shall can also be used in the sense of "Oh, I think I'll choose to do it this way today." "Shall I have dessert or not?" Must is the more affirmative in all cases as it signifies a lack of casual choice. | |
| Jul 12, 2018 at 13:11 | comment | added | Jason Bassford | I'm curious how you can say you don't "impose anything," but then use the word must (or a synonym). In those cases where such a word is used, surely that means that something is imposed (or mandatory)? | |
| Jul 12, 2018 at 13:03 | comment | added | Robusto | Use must: shall can introduce ambiguity, so why take the chance you'll be misunderstood? | |
| Jul 12, 2018 at 12:58 | history | asked | guest_user | CC BY-SA 4.0 |