Re: What's on topic

[Beverly Parks <bparks -at- HUACHUCA-EMH1 -dot- ARMY -dot- MIL>]

Going against my better judgement--and fully expecting a form
letter from Eric--I cannot resist comment on this.

>  a) Responsibilities as an IBM employee (shared by many non-writer types):
>       - fill out time sheets
>       - don't discuss confidential information
>       - protect data integrity
>       - don't abuse equipment
>       - wear shirt, shoes, and pants

>  b) Responsibilities as a _technical writer_ employed by IBM (unique to
>     writer types):
>       - write documents
>       - single source online and hardcopy
>       - coordinate multiple writers of a single book
>       - write online help
>       - test usability of docs
>       - research multi-platform singlesource strategies

To me, "protect data integrity" sticks out like a sore thumb in
the primarily administrative list of items in a). Almost like it
was forced in there with a crow bar just to prove a point.

Data integrity (or media protection) is just another way of
protecting our *documents*--you remember, those things we get
paid to produce. As someone in an earlier post said, this falls
in the category of document management, *not* in the category of
administrivia.

I didn't contribute to the original thread that launched this
discussion--and I probably shouldn't be contributing now--but
this just struck me as analogous to a statistician arranging the
numbers to reflect the results he desires. The numbers aren't
wrong, but their arrangement on the page makes a whopping
difference to the story they tell.

Now I'll recede to my corner and await the flames to which I
will not respond.  :>

   =*=   Beverly Parks -- bparks -at- huachuca-emh1 -dot- army -dot- mil   =*=
   =*=     Huachuca : That's pronounced "wah-CHEW-ka"     =*=
   =*= "Unless otherwise stated, all comments are my own. =*=
   =*=   I am not representing my employer in any way."   =*=