ADMIN: Closing some topics - RANT

["Eric J. Ray" <ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com>]

Gang,
It's time to bring the discussions about credit
checks, heading north of the border, and
everything related to Thomas Eagle or "Don't
start down this road" to an end.

It's been pointed out to me that my initial
message about Thomas Eagle's posting wasn't
as diplomatic or well-phrased as it might have
been. That's true, and I certainly could have
been more tactful. I'm sorry for causing offense.

For reference--for anyone who is interested--
I have fairly strong feelings about behavior
that I perceive to be anything less than open
and accommodating of all perspectives and backgrounds.
To the extent that the "rights" of individual
posters to express themselves intrude upon the
"rights" of groups to participate fully in this
forum, I'll curtail the "rights" of the individual.

(I use the term "rights" cautiously, as it's not
really a question of a right--this is not a public
forum, and there are no "rights of expression".
However, I think my point is clear.)

Yes, there are gray areas here, and I've no doubt
that some of you will take the time to point out
that I've mishandled other situations. That's fine.
I make no pretense to be perfect or to handle all
situations here correctly. As several of you know,
I'm usually willing to revisit decisions I make when
it's pointed out that I've erred.

As a larger percentage of you know, I'm usually pretty
unwilling to revisit any decisions when I get messages
pointing out that I'm a(n) <insert favorite epithet
here, repeat as desired). As with any other communication,
it's valuable to know your audience, and to recognize
that communication with me won't take place to your
satisfaction if you choose to follow a belligerent
approach.

It's also time to stop hijacking the list for your
personal vendettas (Bonnie, Jan, this means you).
It's simply not the right place to do it.

It's never appropriate to harass or mail bomb
anyone for postings/discussions on TECHWR-L. If
I had the power to enforce this, I would. I'm
always shocked--although I don't know why this continues
to shock me--that some TECHWR-L readers would stoop
to the levels that they do offline.

Similarly, everyone needs to recognize that
disagreement _will_take_place_. It's a fact of
life. There's a difference between
"I disagree" and "I think you're a raving lunatic",
and it'd be productive if we all posted accordingly.
Similarly, there's a difference between "That's
the dumbest idea that I've ever heard" and
"You're the dumbest person I've ever heard". One
is acceptable, and the other isn't. If Jane Doe
posts an opinion and Richard Roe tells her that
he thinks exactly the opposite is true, no slight
has occurred.
Again, if you want effective communication to take
place with anyone, consider how you're approaching
the discussions.

TECHWR-L can be a great place for a
sanity check or technical support, but it's not the
right place to go if you want just a pat on the back
or commiseration--there are too many people out here
for that, and it's not realistic to expect it.

Gang, I don't mean this to be patronizing, but you
really need to remember that your reputation will follow
you throughout your career. As long as you're in the
technical writing profession, you'll be held accountable
for what you say or do. This community (technical writing
as a whole) is really pretty darn small, and the cube
wall classic about toes holds true, in spades.
(Be careful. The toes you step on today may belong to
the ___ you have to kiss tomorrow.)
I've said this before, but this rant is a good place to
point it out again...I can name quite a few people who
got jobs as direct results of their activities on
TECHWR-L (and some who I'd hire at the drop of a hat
if the opportunity came up), and some who have severely
diminished their employment chances through their postings
to TECHWR-L.

Finally, some of you ask me why I don't post actual
content anymore. Good question. The answer is that
I don't have the time, because much of my TECHWR-L time is
spent in policing disagreements.

End of rant. Thanks for listening.

Now, back to technical communication.

Eric
ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com
TECHWR-L Listowner








^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
Buy or upgrade to RoboHelp X3 today and receive the WebHelp
Merge Module for FREE ($299 value). RoboHelp X3's all-new
features include conditional text, completely re-engineered
printed documentation output, Context-sensitive Help Toolkit,
single-source layouts, and more!
Order online today at http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l


---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.