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> By all means post terminology questions. But, please don't demo a superior
> attitude, a willingness to assume, disrespect for SMEs, disrespect for
> technical language, or disrespect for technical cultures that you don't belong
> to.
> David Locke
Sounds like a linguistic turf war to me. Who gets to define what, and who gets
to introduce new words into the language. Your point being that subject matter
experts are the ones to do so. Agreed, but we must let the marketers have their
linguistic day in the sun too.
I think that we all come to the position of technical writer with a desire to be
one of those in the know, given that many of us were SME's in our previous lives
(having spent several years doing biological research, I did have the experience
of being a SME in that field and a few others since). So maybe we feel insecure
(initially or perpetually) about that change in status.
As to superior attitudes ... What amazes me about this list is how many
superior attitudes are displayed. I thought it was a form of self defence
against the attitudes displayed by SMEs. No doubt that comment will garner me
'the boot'. So be it. I find the number of superior attitudes displayed in
'the culture' (period, not just in computer culture) pretty amazing.
There's a great scene in the movie 'The Insider' in which the
informant/ex-tobacco exec is at a driving range, hitting golf balls. He is
becoming quite paranoid and imagines (rightly or wrongly) that the one other
person (male) on the driving range is following him and attempting to intimidate
him. A frenzied battle of golf ball hitting ensues, as does a bit of a scuffle,
as our protagonist leaves the driving range. Having been sort of an SME in
primate behaviour, I could only think to myself, 'Why can't you be honest,
behaviorally, for one minute of one day, and just thump your chests, or pick up
sticks and beat them on the ground (as do most 'authenticate' chimps, 99% shared
DNA). Or better yet, urinate on each other's tires. Honest at least.
Preferring Lemurs to Cromagnon Descendants Any Day of the Week, I'll sign off
now.
