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: OT - Re: Well, I Sure Won't Be in Chicago (was Re: The repeat ed/quoted text in your message)
Subject:RE: OT - Re: Well, I Sure Won't Be in Chicago (was Re: The repeat ed/quoted text in your message) From:david -dot- locke -at- amd -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Fri, 13 Apr 2001 14:07:39 -0500
The governance structure of the STC is set up to prevent change. Compare the
performance of the officers to their campaign statements when they ran for
office, and you will see that not all that much changed. Certification is
one the hallmark issues. Where you stand on this issue isn't as important as
how the STC continues to go along and survive by NOT defining what technical
writing is. That core issue is being done outside the scope of the STC. If
the STC would define itself as non-technical TW, then another organization
could assert the technical TW side of the profession. But, in trying to be
all things, it succeeds at being weak.
On the local level, STC chapters run in cyclical manner based on what clique
is in charge this year. And, after about three years the clique burns out,
and a new clique come in throwing everyone out of jobs. Here to the
governance structure is weighted towards past officers, and long-term work
within the system/clique.
The whole fellows thing throws me. Ok, so this person has been a member for
ten years, so what. Longevity matters as it keeps things focused on
tradition and is a homeostatic force against change.
The conferences are much stronger than they were when I first joined the
STC. So if you think they are weak now, take a time machine back to 1987 or
so. The conference tracks go back many years. They are a very stable part of
the conference structure as are the awards dinners, lunches, and dinners.
I'm not knocking this, because it simplifies management when the map is
already laid out in advance and you are filling in the blanks.
On another STC issue, the STC spends money promoting TW as a career. So you
go off to college and work towards gaining a TW skill set, get out as an
entry level, and then guess what NO STC member will hire you. In Houston, we
have a scholarship program that grants a scholarship to science fair
students that write well. This misses the point. This person is unlikely to
become a TW. Fund budding TWs instead. How you find them is another problem.
But, the STC is off track when they promote TW, while all its members and
sponsoring organizations say "Not on my ticket. I'm not training anyone."
*** Deva(tm) Tools for Dreamweaver and Deva(tm) Search ***
Build Contents, Indexes, and Search for Web Sites and Help Systems
Available 4/30/01 at http://www.devahelp.com or info -at- devahelp -dot- com
Sponsored by DigiPub Solutions Corp, producers of PDF 2001 Conference East,
June 4-6, Baltimore, MD. Now covering Acrobat 5. Early registration deadline
April 27. http://www.pdfconference.com.
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
