TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
RE: Contacting competitors for information on their documentation
Subject:RE: Contacting competitors for information on their documentation From:Suzette Seveny <sseveny -at- petvalu -dot- com> To:"'John David Hickey'" <dave -at- toonboom -dot- com>, TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 8 Dec 1999 15:17:51 -0500
Sometimes when I go to industry specific trade shows, that is exactly what I am
looking for - to see what their documentation is like. I don't think I would go
so far as to call anyone up in their company though, somehow that doesn't seem
right to me.
Suzette Seveny
Markham, Ontario, Canada
sseveny -at- petvalu -dot- com or suzette -at- yesic -dot- com
------------------------------------------------------------------
DISCLAIMER:
Any opinions expressed are MY opinions.
Feel free to have your own.
Let's agree to disagree
But Please - Don't Flame Me.
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." --
Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977
On Wednesday, December 08, 1999 2:16 PM, John David Hickey
[SMTP:dave -at- toonboom -dot- com] wrote:
> Greetings!
>
> I'm busily banging away at the documentation at my company, but I'm starting
> to wonder if documentation will be able to make the release date of the end
> of January (I started this job at this company in September and they want me
> to produce 5 manuals in 4 months. Yowsa!).
>
> I've been toying with the idea of trying to contact the writers at the
> competition to find out how much time they spent on documentation and if
> they were able to make the deadlines dictated by their project managers. Do
> you think the writers would be open to sharing that information with me or
> would it violate the whole competitor-secrecy thing. Would it be a dangerous
> thing to do, seeing as how the competitor might somehow use my inquiry
> against us?
>
> I always like to see what the competitor's documentation is like so that I
