Re: STC Letter to the Editor

Subject: Re: STC Letter to the Editor
From: Cheryl Magadieu <leftymagoo -at- attbi -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Sun, 03 Nov 2002 17:54:13 -0500


What's a surprise to me is that there are so many people who seem to think the STC competitions are based solely on an analysis of layout and design. I'd be interested in knowing how many of the detractors have been STC judges before. If you have not been an STC judge, how can you evaluate whether STC judges have been trained to try to be as fair as possible and to evaluate more than just layout and design? It is best to make this decision after you have undergone judges' training, seen the judging forms, and experienced an interactive judging session.

I was a judge for the STC's Boston Chapter last year. I felt that we were given sufficient guidelines for evaluating how well an entry met the criteria in the categories of audience and purpose, organization, content, writing and editing, illustrations and graphics, layout and design, and production. I also felt that the judges were committed to trying to evaluate the entries as fairly and objectively as possible. As Karen said, we are human, so there's no guarantee that judges will be entirely fair and objective. I would not mind having my entry judged by someone who has relevant experience, has received good training about how to evaluate an entry, and cares enough to try to be fair and objective.

The STC competitions are not perfect, but then, how often is any kind of feedback ideal? I can't say I've ever received feedback--whether it be from the STC, my documentation manager, my co-workers, or anyone else--that was entirely thorough, fair, and objective. But I can say that I've received feedback that helped me improve my skills, broaden my perspective, and feel more motivated to do my best. I might not always agree with the feedback, but I'm willing to overlook the things that aren't helpful and learn what I can from the things that are.

Cheryl

At 01:51 PM 11/3/2002 -0800, Tom Murrell wrote:

Gentlefolk,
Is Miss Universe judged by the quality of her content or the pleasantness of her
design? You sound like a bunch of feminists complaining that beauty pageants are
cattle calls.

Of course beauty pageants have no interest in intelligence, wisdom, or maturity. Of
course a competition the quality of technical documentation will focus on layout and
design over content, even, I suspect, useability of the documentation.

My question is why are these things even a surprise to thoughtful people? (Unless,
of course, someone is just trolling for a fight and proving that there are willing
takers for any provocative comments that are made. But we are professionals; so I'm
sure that's not the case.)



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References:
Re: STC Letter to the Editor: From: Bruce Byfield
Re: STC Letter to the Editor: From: Tom Murrell

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