And On A Different Topic... (Language/Grammar)

[gnomi]

May vs. Might. I know that traditionally there are differences between the intensity of the uncertainty (may is less uncertain than might, if I recall correctly). However, technical writers tend to avoid using "may" in documentation because of the possible confusion between "may" (possibly) and "may" (allowed) in (for example) the construct "you may [whatever the possible choice is]." In many cases, I replace "may" with "can." However, when I am writing about a possibility, I often replace "may" with "might" (as in, "You might need to open the window before throwing your computer out of it") if the sentence is not cleanly recastable (recasting the sentence above results in "Open any closed windows before throwing your computer through them"). But when I do find myself substituting "might," I wonder if I'm overstating the uncertainty.