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Case sensitivity depends on a value of the FooBarBaz variable. The default value is Off and it's strongly discouraged to change it. If you really need to do so, change it back as soon as possible.

FooBarBaz = On
// Do something
FooBarBaz = Off

As soon as possible sounds too harsh to me, and hence I would to replace it with something more neutral.

If you really need to do so, change it back right after.

This phrase is emotionally correct, but I'm not sure whether it's grammatically correct. I have a feeling (I'm not sure, though) that we should specify "right after what". Something like this, probably:

If you really need to do so, change it back right after you have finished your tasks.

But there are two problems here. First, I simply don't know how to say it really correct. After you have finished your tasks is nothing more than a draft.

Second, it sounds unnecessary wordy.

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    "As soon as possible" sounds perfect to me - not too harsh at all.
    – TypeIA
    Commented Aug 2, 2020 at 12:19
  • @TypeIA It has quite harsh meaning in my native language. :) I was also "scared" by the following article on Grammarly: grammarly.com/blog/as-soon-as-possible
    – john c. j.
    Commented Aug 2, 2020 at 12:31
  • You are right. "Change it back right after" is not an English sentence, and "... right after you have finished your tasks" is unnecessarily verbose.
    – alephzero
    Commented Aug 2, 2020 at 22:38
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    In the Grammarly blog, they are complaining about using "As soon as possible" to mean "stop anything else you are doing and obey my order immediately." That is not what your sentence "If you really need to do so, change it back as soon as possible" means.
    – alephzero
    Commented Aug 2, 2020 at 22:41
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    I used to work in a team where we had a standard response for any request to do something "as soon as possible". We scheduled it to be done in 12 months' time. People soon learned to think about when they really needed us to do some work for them!
    – alephzero
    Commented Aug 2, 2020 at 22:45

2 Answers 2

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The phrase as soon as possible is so common that I do not think people would see it as harsh. They do not think of it as meaning immediately but more as soon as you have time. It is so common that people usually write ASAP in an informal context.

Right after would, I suspect, be fine in US English but it sounds ugly to me.

After you have finished your tasks could mean a time point in the distant future if that is how long the tasks are going to take.

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    'As soon as possible' allows the recipient of the instruction some discretion; 'right after' does not, and is therefore harsher.
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Aug 2, 2020 at 14:49
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To express "right after" in a more formal way, I would use the word immediately. As in "If you change this setting, change it back immediately afterwards".

I don't think "as soon as possible" is especially harsh; I think immediately is actually harsher. But I would call either of them totally appropriate in this case. They are not too harsh for the context you're using them in.

As far as expressing "after what", I think it will be easier to do that in a more concrete / specific way. For example:

"The FooBarBaz setting is deprecated and should no longer be used. If you need to enable the FooBarBaz setting temporarily while frobbing a gronk, please change it back immediately afterwards." (or "... immediately after frobbing is complete.")

In that specific context, the phrase "while frobbing a gronk" makes it clear what "afterwards" is referring to.

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