This is why I've learned to present people with the concrete consequences and results of their service request. Especially if I get the feeling that someone does not comprehend what they are asking for.

"Your service request will result in X hours of downtime, as well as ireversible data loss between T1 and T2, and a reset of your system back to the state it was in at T1. All changes and interactions after T1 will be lost. Is this what you expect and want?"

Beyond a certain amount of service disruption or monetary investment, asking twice and making sure is prudent, not pedantic.

Normally I agree. The only time I ever raised my voice at a subordinate was because they were consistently lax and inaccurate with technical details. Things like mixing up C and C++ in conversations where it mattered.

But things like DB9 and RJ45 are so commonly used that anyone taking them literally is either being obstinate or are completely new to the field.

In this case, is it that helpful? Since only a lunatic would want a true DB9 and no one’s ever made a giant connector with 9 pins, I fail to see the importance.

Gotta love that sharp edge.

Nothing saves money like a good well actually.

I think this implies a meaning of "the" that doesn't actually exist in modern english.

"The" often refers to a group or category.

"The other" is actually a phrase I would take to be incredibly inclusive in meaning if not followed by another specifier (it means "the category of everything that is not us").

"The alternative" is similarly a category structure. It's a singular category, made of many possible members, or alternatives.

You may still only pick a single alternate for each case, but that does not mean that a category of multiple possible alternative choices does not exist.

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All that said, sparkfun is messing up by labeling this DE9. Spoken as someone who's done quite a bit of serial communication work. The defacto industry term is DB9, whether they like it or not, and most searching/purchasing will be done using that term. This is a "technically correct" fun article, with a name that would immediately mean I don't ever find this product (and would not purchase this product) unless they highlight that this is a DB9 breakout board with a bad name.

Simple test? Amazon has more than 4000 results for "db9 cable" and only ~110 results for "de9" cable. Even specialty sites like McMaster, which are usually pretty particular with their terms are happily calling this a db9 connector: https://www.mcmaster.com/products/connectors/computer-connec...

"(The/an) alternate" is probably the ahem _alternative_ term you're looking for...

I think you're proving my point. If the people I am talking to and the language I am using both demand precision in word choice, then I would be foolish to use the wrong term and then say "well, you should have known what I meant."

But that is a communication context, and there are other contexts where implications and assumed meanings are expected, and spelling everything out would be considered pompous, self-important, and ridiculous.

Perhaps not in Germany? But certainly elsewhere (but i believe that in German the pronoun "sie" can require assumed context to understand).