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Subject:RE: On the fence From:Alan -dot- Miller -at- prometric -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 12 Jul 2001 10:50:30 -0400
Bill,
I can't disagree with you here. Notice that I made no assertion about how
well _Technical Communication_ and _Intercom_ do their jobs, only what I
think their jobs are. Like everything else, they are subject to Sturgeon's
Law and Andrew's scorn :-{).
The only difficulty I have with professional mailing lists is sorting the
junk from the pearls, figuring out who are the experts and who are the
guessers. After a while it becomes clear who's who, but even then one has
to take care and check the facts, sources, references, data, addition, and
so forth. But then, one should always do that.
Regards,
Al Miller
Chief Documentation Curmudgeon
Prometric, Inc.
:: The STC journal is *supposed* to be theoretical. How else
:: do you think
:: research gets peer-reviewed and published, except through academic
:: journals? In my view, its job is to provide us
:: practitioners with the
:: latest research in the field. Our job is to find ways to
:: apply useful bits
:: of that research to our own real-world situations.
:: _Intercom_ publishes
:: real-world articles.
I hate to say it, but every one of these assertions is debatable. In many
cases I've found TC journal articles to be either trivial or behind the
ball. I do enjoy reading the journal, but I take little new and useful
information with me when I'm finished.
As for Intercom, yes it's real world, but the articles are very
niche-oriented, and in some case also behind the ball. But that's the real
world for you.
I don't mean to disrespect these publications or those who contribute to
them, but they are hardly tomes of sacred knowledge as some make them (and
equally the STC) out to be. I don't think any one publication or
organization can provide truly cutting edge, accurate, and useful
information. That is why I reassert my personal favorite sources of info -
professional mailing lists.
*****************
BILL SWALLOW
Technical Writer
C O U R I O N C O R P O R A T I O N
1881 Worcester Road
Framingham, Mass. 01701
T E L * 508-879-8400 x316
F A X * 508-879-8500
www.courion.com
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