I think jargon is appropriate in the spoken form of communication.
However, the written does not have the advantage of body language,
cultural interpretaton, and voice inflection. The written word,
especially any learning tool, *should* use simple language that does not
create barriers to understanding or learning.
Mark Twain said, "I do not know why people have such a hard time
writing. All the words are in the dictionary."
But, communicating is the source of a lot of difficulty and unintentional
hurt. I think we spend way too much time trying to communicate and less
time actually communicating.
Jargon is useful in many ways and demonstrates a living language's
flexibility. Group identity is gelled with secret rites and language
(the manager shoots a look; the fraternity passes the handshake; the
latest magazine, TV show, or fad influences teen-agers).
-- Jesse White jwhite@comp.uark.edu