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Re: techie or font fondler? - introspection ad nauseum
Subject:Re: techie or font fondler? - introspection ad nauseum From:Steven Brown <stevenabrown -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 3 Mar 2003 07:36:58 -0800 (PST)
I think this ongoing introspection reflects a number
of factors (none of them inherently positive or
negative):
- Our quest for legitimacy, particularly in a poor
economy where TWs are often perceived as expendable.
- The unspoken fear that upper management will one day
realize that "no one reads the documentation."
- Our presence in literally every industry and sector
of the economy.
- The wide variety of tasks that we perform (from
business and systems analysis to taking meeting
minutes).
- The lack of professional certification.
- Our desire to influence or take responsibility for
UI design.
- Our varied educational backgrounds.
- The availability of software that allows literally
anyone to write and publish documentation.
- The proliferation of the FAQ as a substitute for a
substantial documentation set.
- The desire among some TWs to protect the English
language.
- The belief among some TWs that the quality of their
documentation is excellent.
- The belief among some TWs that the quality of
others' documentation is mediocre.
- Lack of awareness among non-TWs about what we do.
- The inclusion of technical writing in books listing
jobs you can do from home (i.e., books that make
technical writing sound like something anyone can do).
- Many of us simply like to write, especially about
ourselves.
Steven Brown
Introspector
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