STC is broken

[Beth Agnew]

Let's not forget institutional writers who create policy and procedure 
documentation for places like hospitals, universities, government, and 
large corporate enterprises. When it's done right, it bears the touch of 
a technical writer / technical communicator because it considers the 
audience, explains complex information in terms even the general public 
can understand, and often includes information that is technical and 
scientific in nature, among other traits. Marketing and HR people can 
write employee handbooks, for example, but when a TW does it, an 
employee whose father has just died can find information about leave 
policies under "family emergency", "death" and "leave" instead of having 
to remember to look it up under "bereavement".
--Beth

Sam Beard wrote:
> Dan,
>
>    A big problem I see with this is that it doesn't include anything
> about writing things that are more business-related in nature, such as
> SOPs and the like. Sometimes, the people that do this are called
> business instead of technical writers, but I feel it's still the same
> thing, particularly when that's part of a technical writer job
> description. Much of what you wrote is quite good, IMHO. Thanks for the
> effort!
>
> Samuel I. Beard, Jr.
> Technical Writer
> OI Analytical
> 979 690-1711 Ext. 222
> sbeard at oico.com
>  
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+sbeard=oico.com at lists.techwr-l.com
> [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+sbeard=oico.com at lists.techwr-l.com] On Behalf
> Of Dan Goldstein
> Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 12:26 PM
> To: techwr-l at lists.techwr-l.com
> Subject: RE: STC is broken
>
> (I really shouldn't do this...)
>
> If the following doesn't specifically exclude more than 5% of
> TECHWR-Lers, I'll be happy. If someone can suggest changes that clarify
> the definition without excluding anyone else, I'll be even happier.
>
> "Technical writers create and modify documentation about processes,
> products, and services of a scientific or technological nature. The
> documentation almost always includes text, and often also includes
> graphics. Technical writers are able to organize and present information
> provided by others who have specific technical expertise. They are able
> to learn new technologies, both in the subject matter that they are
> documenting and in the tools that they use to present it. They are able
> to modify the documentation according to the needs of the target
> audience, as well as the needs of the organizations for which they
> work."
>
> (Not grinning - just ducking and running)