TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Beliefs and passions- new job requirements From:Chris Despopoulos <despopoulos_chriss -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:Nicole Salisbury-Gaumont <nicole -dot- gaumont -at- gmail -dot- com> Date:Tue, 6 Nov 2012 05:47:58 -0800 (PST)
Entering into the allows/enables war zone... Enabling and allowing are two different things. I can enable you to do drive a car by giving you the keys. That doesn't mean you are allowed to drive it -- that's a matter of law. By throwing the ball a pitcher enables me to hit, but I won't succeed until the pitcher allows it by throwing me a lob (I'm a lousy batter). Software enables me to write this email. I'm proud to say I haven't started to ask software for permission. (Even logins matter... The login screen enforces a policy that allows/disallows your access. But that policy is a human, social rule. The enforcement of the policy is by means of technology... the technology enables you to appeal to the policy, but it's the policy that allows access.)
The politics of the issue -- We own and control our technology, whether we care to admit it or not. Don't blame technology for the state of things, blame yourself and other members of your species... Just because the gun is on the mantlepiece, that doesn't mean it has to go off before the final curtain. Letting doubt on that issue creep into the vernacular is a very, very bad thing.
cud
________________________________
From: Nicole Salisbury-Gaumont <nicole -dot- gaumont -at- gmail -dot- com>
To: Chris Despopoulos <despopoulos_chriss -at- yahoo -dot- com>
Cc: "techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 6, 2012 5:42 AM
Subject: Re: Beliefs and passions- new job requirements
Whilst sitting watching the BMX at the Olympics in August, we were told that sport has the power to change the world. I don't think you need to be a technical author to see how ridiculous that statement is, but it does help.
"For me this is right up there with a feature that "allows" you to do x"
I disagree. A feature is created to enable a user to perform a task. If the feature didn't exist, the user would be unable to perform the task. This is just the way the English language works. In French, you would say 'using this feature, you can do x'.
On 6 November 2012 10:33, Chris Despopoulos <despopoulos_chriss -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote:
A technical writer should not have ascribed ability to technology, since it's people who change the world (albeit by means of technology). Unused technology has no ability that I'm aware of. (If a computer started up in a forest and there was nobody there to log on, would Clippy make a sound?) For me this is right up there with a feature that "allows" you to do x... one of my pet peeves. Splitting hairs, you say? Well, it's a political issue... Pull out your ear-buds and listen to what the world really sounds like.
>
>======= From Erika =======
>
>>From a current tech writing job opening at Google:
>"Googlers
> thrive in small, focused teams and high-energy environments, believe in
> the ability of technology to change the world, and are as passionate
>about their lives as they are about their work."
>
>I wonder if one of their tech writers phrased this.
>==========================
>
>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>Writer Tip: Create 10 different outputs with Doc-To-Help -- including Mobile and EPUB.
>
>Read all about them: http://bit.ly/doc-to-help-10-outputs
>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
>You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as nicole -dot- gaumont -at- gmail -dot- com -dot-
>
>To unsubscribe send a blank email to
>techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
>
>Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
>http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and info.
>
>Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our online magazine at http://techwhirl.com
>
>Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
>
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Writer Tip: Create 10 different outputs with Doc-To-Help -- including Mobile and EPUB.
