RE: grammar questions (was the whole VP thread)

["Jane Carnall" <jane -dot- carnall -at- digitalbridges -dot- com>]

>I've been a member of this list (off and on) for a while, and have seen
many
>grammar-related threads. It seems that all of them veer off-topic or become
>extremely opinionated and mundane very quickly.

That's what the "delete" key is for.

<snip valid comment about reference works and where to find free online
info>

>Maybe I'm just out of touch with the REAL tech writing world, but shouldn't
>we be using references and so forth at least on an occasional basis to get
>our work done? If this is not the case and I am indeed delusional, then I
>think it'd then be valid for me to ask such questions as "what's the best
>sandwich to eat when writing a network administrator guide"

Brie with black grapes on wholemeal bread. <g>

>All silliness aside, I think it makes sense to suggest that we utilize what
>references we have available to us before posting basic questions to the
>list. TECHWR-L could be a great resource for in-depth technical writing
>information, but it's very hard to sift through the silt to find the gold
>lately.

I don't find it hard. Where a thread starts that is clearly going nowhere I
find interesting, I use a useful combination of keys that I recommend to
your attention: Sort by topic, highlight first e-mail, scroll down, press
SHIFT, highlight last e-mail (thus highlighting all topics on thread) and...
I press that wonderful Delete key. Presto. Pesto. Other forms of relish.

All silliness aside, I think it makes perfect sense, where an online
reference exists that answers the question, to point the questioner to that
online reference. As the proverb says, "Give a man a fish and you feed him
for a day. Teach a man to fish.... and he sits in the boat and drinks beer
all day." Er, yes. But I don't think it makes sense at all to dismiss some
questions (except maybe the ones about sandwiches) as unworthy of attention.
It just makes novice posters nervous: and *that's* not the intent of this
list.

Jane Carnall
Technical Writer, Digital Bridges, Scotland
Unless stated otherwise, these opinions are mine, and mine alone.


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