Re: I'm taking my marbles and going home...
It would seem to me that being unable to intuit from my post that what I was
saying was not "experts can only write authoritative documents with long
timelines" but rather "long timelines are required to =become= an expert so
you can write said document" that you've proven me wrong. I'd assumed that
an unspoken or unwritten rule in all of this were some basic (what I thought
were basic) skills required to be a tech writer. These would include (but
not be limited to) the abilities to extrapolate, intuit, interpret and
construe.
Sorry for the confusion and I'll adjust my estimation of this audience
accordingly.
That's right: win us over by flattery ;-)
Seriously, here's a friendly proposition:
If only one person fails to understand what is written, the writer can usually assume that that person is at fault. However, when a number of people do so,then the writer seriously needs to consider the possibility that the writing is at fault.
Admitting that possibility is embarrassing. However, write often enough, and the possibility is going to appear. Probably, everyone on this list has had to face it (if not so often as I have). But it helps to remember the writer is not writing, and that being honest enough to admit a lack of infallibility makes for a better writer.
So you didn't say exactly what you meant. Big deal - it's happened to most of us. Just correct it and move on.
--
Bruce Byfield bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com 604.421.7177
"To Newgate Gaol they took him, the Ranter's dream was dead,
He had no taste for martyrdom; 'I will recant,' he said,
'I banished sin, but I have erred, it cannot be denied
'That these are sin: greed, tyranny, hypocrisy and pride.'"
- Leon Rosselson, "Abezier Coppe"
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