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Translating RE: Culture, or What it means to be a Technical Writer
Subject:Translating RE: Culture, or What it means to be a Technical Writer From:"Huber, Mike" <mrhuber -at- SOFTWARE -dot- ROCKWELL -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 8 May 1998 10:46:45 -0500
My objection to the "translation" metaphor is that it's insulting to our
subject matter experts.
Most of the software developers that I know are able to communicate in
human languages. Some of them are, in fact, fine writers. I've received
notes that expressed technical information in the form of metaphorical
stories (sorry - I lost them when we changed email systems) that were
just stunning. The author is a better writer than I am. I'm not
translating his work so normal people can understand it, it's quite
comprehensible as it is. But it answers the questions that developers
ask, not the questions that users ask.
For the most part, the developers I work with are personable,
interesting people who can, and do, communicate with others on a human
level. They are not well described by the geek stereotypes. They need no
translators.
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Office:mike -dot- huber -at- software -dot- rockwell -dot- com
Home:nax -at- execpc -dot- com
