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~|>There's a fourth possible response to those who send queries the list
~|>without doing any research. It's the same response many of
~|>us (hopefully)
~|>use in real life when someone new to our writing group, project team,
~|>company, etc., makes a mistake. Take the person aside and
~|>remind them of the
~|>rules. Send a private post. Public reprimands don't add
~|>value to the list
~|>and are mean-spirited.
Private correction instead of public humiliation? A couple of months
ago, about 5,000 of my colleagues were informed via the list that I
"obviously have a reading disability." So I'd like to see that concept
catch on...:)
A few weeks ago someone asked the list what "SME" stands for. I replied
privately, as I'm sure others did. But I'm curious why some list members
answered the question on the list. Half a dozen messages saying "Subject
Matter Expert" didn't contribute to any dialogue on the list, but they
did reinforce the idea that an ignorant question had been asked.
As for the Writer's Bookshelf, perhaps private responses (or list
responses that I haven't read yet) have mentioned to Mike that there is
a list of books on the TECHWR-L Web site. If not--Mike, there's a good
list of books on the TECHWR-L Web site.
Also, I've found Oryx's publications in scientific and technical
communication to be interesting reads.
Sarah Bane
Day job: Technical Writer, SpectrumRetail, Inc.
---Home of ProphetLine retail management products---
Night job: Associate Instructor, Westark College
sarah -dot- bane -at- spectrumretail -dot- com
sbane -at- westark -dot- edu
Opinions expressed are my own and not endorsed by SpectrumRetail or by
Westark.
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