Re: OT? Community and tech writing in real life (was Re: Ambiguous words and Phrases)

[Tim Mantyla <TimMantyla -at- nustep -dot- com>]

> From: Tim Mantyla <TimMantyla -at- nustep -dot- com>
> This is one thread that's spilling over into "real life" issues, a 
...
> Why not explore more on the ethics of communication? 


Not addressed by anyone yet...maybe tomorrow? I get the digest.


> From: "Combs, Richard" <richard -dot- combs -at- Polycom -dot- com> who claims that:
> Tim Mantyla said:
> <a bunch of psychobabble, treacly kumbaya-crap, and tired leftist
> cliches from the 60s>

> Of course, your thinly-veiled closing reference to the commie slogan
> "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need"
> makes it pretty clear what you think of individuals taking
> responsibility for themselves. 

Not factual, nor polite as suggested below. I neither referred to, or said 
either quote. Overstepping by leaps the fuzzy boundaries. I'm surprised it 
went through, as completely OT (and uncivil) as it was. And it was clearly 
not an invitation to offend, just an observation that some would feel 
offended at times.

Observation: My post largely tied in to TW w/ some spillover at the end. 
Nothing vitriolic about it, just analytical. The comment on corporate 
behavior was a dead-on the tech writing ethics issue.


I *did* write:
> times) spill onto the list and even offend others from time to time. So 
> long as it's polite and sticks to the topic in some remote way, I hope 
we 
> encourage that kind of exchange, but in a limited way. Who defines those 

> limits? All of us, in essence, which means they'll always be fuzzy.
...

> From: "Combs, Richard" <richard -dot- combs -at- Polycom -dot- com>:
> Obligatory TW tie-in: You communicate not just with what you say, but
> with how you say it...

Please reread your own words--true, that.


> Harrumph!
> Richard

Now youse larn'd me!

-------

> From: "Lauren" <lauren -at- writeco -dot- net>
> This is a technical writing list, hence the name, techwr-l.  I enjoy the
> occasional OT segues that come out of technical writing discussions, but 
I
> wouldn't want to see this list turn into something other than a 
technical
> writing list.
> Lauren

I wrote:
> The purpose of this list is to serve the tech writer community's needs. 


Agreed, it should focus on tech writing subjects. So what are the needs of 
*all* those who have not posted? (Not sure How about a survey?

What subjects exactly should be under tech writing? What are the 
boundaries? 

If this list serves the tech writing community needs, we should have a 
clearer idea--a consensus--of what those are.


---------
> From: Ned Bedinger <doc -at- edwordsmith -dot- com>

> Tim Mantyla wrote:
> > I support "real life" spillover occasionally, since our own lives 
revolve 
> > in "real life" as well as our "tech writer life" bubble at work.

> Perhaps we should have a default tech writing context for all off-topic 
> posts.  That context could be Simplified Technical English, which 
> doesn't get enough play on techwr-l anyway.  So when the discussion 
-------

Sorry, I don't understand that or how it would work. What does "a default 
tech writing context" mean in Simplified Technical English (a great idea, 
BTW), and how does it relate to the monkey-baiting and Poli-sci and 
Ecology 101 posts?  :-)


--Tim
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