Re: The List's Decline

[Marilynne Smith <mrsmith -at- CTS -dot- COM>]

When you're writing e-mail to a list, you should be excused from having to
write a polished piece.

When you're critiqueing topics on TECHWR-L, please don't load my mail box
with personal criticisms, slams, and a copy of everything that's been said
about the topic before you add your two sentences.

This used to be a user-friendly place where people could expose their
vulnerabilities and get help from other technical writers.  It used to be a
place where we brought our passionate interests.

When I feel I'm getting good information and really communicating with my
fellow technical writers, then I'm interested in being here.

Marilynne (who hasn't read the whole list in a very long time)
===============================================
At 11:03 AM 3/1/96 -0800, Richard Mateosian wrote:
>snip>

> Also, I'm sorry
>to say, a lot of the writing that appears here is not very crisp. In fact
>much of it is badly muddled.
><snip>
>Whatever the reason, there's a lot of stuff here that wouldn't help you get
>a job if it were in your portfolio.  ...RM
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
(That's a barbed wire fence on the previous line).  My answer to the comment
about portfolios is that there are many kinds of writing.  When I write
e-mail to a list, I am trying to communicate quickly and easily with fellow
writers.  That's all.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

>Richard Mateosian        http://www.c2.org/~srm/   President, Berkeley STC
>Freelance Technical Writer     srm -at- c2 -dot- org        Review Editor, IEEE Micro


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Marilynne Smith
mrsmith -at- cts -dot- com
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