alt Hacker NewsInformal or conversational tone has always been the gold-standard for most communications. People just piss on it because they like to feel smart.
But, most writing has purpose. And usually fulfilling that purpose requires readers to comprehend what you're writing. Conversational tone is easy to comprehend, and shockingly less ambiguous than you'd think, especially when tailored to the target audience.
> But, most writing has purpose.
Over the years, I've become an odd fan of documents that start with a "purpose of this document" section.
Sure, it seems weirdly bureaucratic at first, but as time goes on, you start seeing documents that don't really know what their focus is anymore, because different authors decided it was the least-bad place to dump their own guide, checklist, or opinions.
L for example, imagine four documents about an API: A how-to guide; fine implementation details; a diagnostic checklist; a primer for executives or salespeople considering it as a product.