Re: Tech writing data storage pet peeve

[Sarah Stegall <stegall -at- TERAYON -dot- COM>]

Beth Kane wrote:
>
> I am really irritated with tech writers who refuse to store/work with their
> docs on the server everyone is supposed to be using.

I store my work on the server, I don't work on it.
Why?

1.  Slow server speed.
2.  I don't trust the network backup. Nothing
personal to our IS department, it's just a reflex
with me.
3.  I have no control (in our particular setup)
over who accesses the files and when--it is
entirely possible for someone to open the file,
change it, and save it while I'm not looking, and
then I save my 'revision' on top of theirs,
obliterating it.
4.  Sometimes it's just Not Ready For Prime Time,
and rather than have it where every Tom, Dick and
Sally can look at it and offer premature comment,
I keep it to myself.

We have recently taken steps to alleviate some of
these problems with a tech pubs directory only
writers can access, but it does not solve the slow
speed problem.

Why, exactly, is this a problem?  Has someone been
uploading obsolete files over yours, or something?


--
Sarah Stegall                 ||  Senior Technical
Writer
Terayon Communication Systems ||
stegall -at- terayon -dot- com
2952 Bunker Hill Lane         ||  voice
408-919-5893
Santa Clara, CA 95054         ||  fax 408-727-6204

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