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Subject:Horton's Laws of the Publication From:Chuck Banks <chuck -at- ASL -dot- DL -dot- NEC -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 10 Aug 1993 11:47:56 CDT
HORTON'S LAWS OF THE PUBLICATION
1. In technical writing, there is
always an easier way, always a clearer
way, always a more accurate way. Un-
fortunately, they are seldom the same
way.
2. The more important a piece of in-
formation, the less available it is.
3. The quality of prose is inversely
proportional to the number of coauthors.
4. The amount of criticism of a publi-
cation is inversely proportional to its
true value.
5. No deadline is impossible to the
person who doesn't have to meet it.
6. Beware the unscathed review draft.
It is hiding a fatal flaw.
7. After you detect and correct an
error, you will discover that you were
right in the first place.
8. White space never lies.
9. Every customer will immediately
find the mistake that no proofreader
could ever find.
10. There's always one more typo.
By Bill Horton, reproduced from the
Southeastern Michigan Chapter's TECH
COMMENTS (circa 1982)
--
__ ________ ______
|\\ | || // Chuck Banks
| \\ | ||_______ || Senior Technical Writer
| \\ | || || NEC America, Inc.
| \\| \\______ \\______ E-Mail: chuck -at- asl -dot- dl -dot- nec -dot- com
America, Incorporated CompuServe: 72520,411
