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Re: Do techies really know what other techies need?
Subject:Re: Do techies really know what other techies need? From:Stuart Burnfield <slb -at- FS -dot- COM -dot- AU> Date:Tue, 25 Mar 1997 11:32:00 +0800
Sella Rush wrote:
>...the programmer I work most closely with despises all
>my tries at making text more accessible..."they're programmers, they'll
>understand what I'm saying."...I'm sick and tired of having all my
>suggestions discounted because he's a techie and knows what techies want...
>So, does anyone have any clever techniques for dealing with this argument?
Sella, so far just about everyone has assumed that you're right and your
programmer is wrong. This may be so, but your first clever technique
should be to find out for sure. If it turns out that in this case you
misread your audience, your second clever technique should be to back
down gracefully.
Statements about the general nature of programmers and the market for
programming tools mean nothing. What is *your* target market? Are they
indeed experienced or professional programmers? If so, they may well
take your genuine attempts to make the text 'accessible' as a sign that
the product is not intended for them.
Again, I suspect you're right and the programmer is wrong. But don't go
by my suspicions, or yours.
Then Sue Gallagher <sgallagher -at- EXPERSOFT -dot- COM> said:
> . . . creating wiz-bang technology is only half the fun. You have
> to share it -- sell it to someone -- in order to take full enjoyment
> from it. It's kinda like sex in that respect. . .
Sue, you've shocked even me. I consider myself a pretty groovy, switched-
on guy, but I never realised that I needed to sell my services in order
to take full enjoyment from sex. And now that I'm old and plain, it's too
late. . .
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