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>
> It's saying that if an end user is a nontechnical person, a nontechnical
> technical writer is a good test subject for the adequacy of documentation
> for nontechnical users and specifically,
Isn't the writer is supposed to produce the documentation, not be
the subject of usability testing?
> that a nontechnical technical
> writer is ideal to present technical information to nontechnical users.
This position seems to assume that people can only understand or
emphathize with their own positions. Personally, I pride myself on
being able to write for non-technical users or hardcore techies as
the need arises. In truth, I'm neither, but I do know how to tailor
my work to the needs of the audience without actually being part of
it. Once I know what the audience needs, then I can either decide
what to leave out or educate myself in what I need to add.
> You have a nearly pathological need to mock other people's seriously stated
> concerns.
Warning: you're getting far too personal here. I appreciate that
Andrew's style can be hard to take sometimes, but that doesn't
justify your comments about him. You've got a valid point when you
say that he exaggerates other people's points, but you're doing the
exactly the same back to him.
--
Bruce Byfield, Outlaw Communications
Contributing Editor, Maximum Linux
604.421.7189 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com
"The Queen was in her chamber, a-combing of her hair,
There came Queen Mary's spirit and It stood behind her chair,
Singing, 'Backward and forward and sideways may you pass,
But I will stand behind you till you face the looking-glass.'"
- Rudyard Kipling, "The Looking-Glass"
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