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I would avoid saying on a searchable public forum that my client has an
"inflated ego," engages in "control-freak meddling," and is not "in
their right mind." I would also avoid suggesting passive-aggressive
responses like saying someone should "Start dissecting the comments in
his code." Or saying, "Thanks, but I only need you to comment on
instances of incorrect or incomplete information.... you don't need to
worry about punctuation style issues... that's my job." Or saying, "I
can get rid of those periods if you want. You're the boss. But, if
someone comes along and questions it, I don't have anything to defend
the action. Your call."
As a general inquiry to the list, why are there so many
passive-aggressive and emotional responses to this situation? This
subject of dealing with different writing styles escalated quickly into
an odd sense of technical writer superiority over clients and their
audiences. E.g., What technical writer in their right mind would get an
inflated ego to engage control-freak meddling and start dissecting
comments on punctuation style issues and tell their clients they should
only comment on instances of incorrect or incomplete information because
the technical writer won't defend the action of changing the writing to
suit "the boss"? Does the 55 word question feel good? Will clients who
may be mentioned in the technical writers' profiles appreciate such
characterization?
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