Thanks, Adee. I support this proposed remedy.
Valerie Maguire, BSEE
602-228-7943 mobile
From: George Zimmerman <george@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, February 9, 2026 10:39 AM
To: STDS-802-3-SPEP2P@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [802.3_SPEP2P] comment i-50: MEC and use of 'avoid'
All – Comment I-50, on the editorial topic is to address a request from IEEE Mandatory Editorial Coordination to avoid the use of the words that have absolute context – such as ‘avoid’. I’m not a very big fan of removing descriptive language from the available lexicon, as it leads to less accurate text. However, you pick your battles. The comment from Mandatory Editorial Coordination (which must be resolved prior to submittal to RevCom) is below:
Absolute Verbiage
Explanation of requirement: Words making explicit or implicit guarantees should be modified if there is a
possibility that unforeseen situations or circumstances may alter an outcome, especially those that are safety related.
"Ensure" might be changed to "help ensure," and "to prevent" might be changed to "to reduce."
Highlighted Text: p146 - avoid
Highlighted Text: p97 - ensures
Highlighted Text: p21 - minimize
We use this word elsewhere in IEEE Std 802.3-2022, but I suspect the restrictions on language are getting stricter. I did my best in the proposed response and suggested rephrasing the text on page 148, line 21 as follows:
Consider changing "to avoid such connections" to "to reduce the chance of such connections"
(note the page numbers changed slightly from the MEC-review draft, 2.3, to D3.0)
To be fair, I wasn’t quite happy with it.
Thanks to Adee Ran who has suggested what I think is better:
Consider simply rewriting the sentence to be more direct and avoid the use of avoid – let the reader draw conclusions:
Change “Care should be taken to avoid such connections as they can damage equipment.”
To: “Such connections can damage equipment.”
I would support this remedy as better. Note that getting this clear can help, as I wouldn’t be too surprised to see this particular phrase flagged in future projects.
George Zimmerman, Ph.D.
President & Principal
CME Consulting, Inc.
Experts in Advanced PHYsical Communications
310-920-3860
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