[net.misc] Is and/or the same as or

turner (02/11/83)

#R:bronze:-46900:ucbesvax:1100004:000:531
ucbesvax!turner    Feb 10 14:17:00 1983


	In general, "or" does seem to be effectively an exclusive "or".
    Note how often people will add "...or both...".  How culturally-
    determined is this useage?

	Sometimes I use "and/or", but mostly in conversation; in text it
    is something of an abomination.  Kind of wimpy, for one thing.  For
    example, one would never say "Eat shit and/or die!"  Maybe it's just the
    lexical artificiality that imparts a bias, but it does give the feeling
    that the user cannot make up his/her (oops!) mind.

	Michael Turner