Re: hitman manual, technical writing, & social structures

Subject: Re: hitman manual, technical writing, & social structures
From: "Tamminga, Ernie" <et -at- DSC -dot- COM>
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 08:14:26 -0800

Seems to me morality & ethics in our society are close to being
overwhelmed by fragmentative fear of berserk litigiousness.

Two extreme positions:

(1)We can't afford the risk of having someone publish something that
interferes with the interest of The State, therefore we must disallow
every type of free expression.

(2)We must allow conscienceless vermin the absolute right to publish
absolutely anything they want to, including garbage that not only has no
redeeming social value but actively and intentionally promotes social
*harm* and violence against persons. And we must give them absolute and
complete freedom from responsibility for consequences. Otherwise we are
on an inevitable and irreversible slippery slope to disallowing EVERY
kind of writing and speaking.

The first position is enthusiastically endorsed by dictatorships.

The second position would characterize a society with no faith in
itself, and with a fear of its own institutions.

My hope is that America, and any other free society, would be better
than either of those two possibilities.

--------
Ernie Tamminga

>


If it's about technical communication--post it! If not, don't!
Posts: mailto:techwr-l -at- listserv -dot- okstate -dot- edu
Commands: mailto:listserv -at- listserv -dot- okstate -dot- edu (e.g. SIGNOFF TECHWR-L)
Archives: http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html,
http://www.documentation.com/, or http://www.dejanews.com/
Subjects: JOB:, QUESTION:, SUMMARY:, ANNOUNCE:, or none of these.


Previous by Author: Bug in RoboHelp5 hardcopy utility
Next by Author: Job Posting, Herndon, VA
Previous by Thread: Re: Procedure vs. Task vs. Flow
Next by Thread: SUMMARY: Zip a proper noun?


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads