Re: On the Fence/Writing for Journals

[Andrew Plato <intrepid_es -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

"George F. Hayhoe" wrote...

> But no one should mistake opinions for facts. We wouldn't last very long
> as technical communicators if our descriptions of how to operate
> software were based on our opinion of how it should work.

Tell that to all those Linux users. 

We are all agreed that STC asks tech writers to contribute research for
publishing in either magazine (Intercom or Tech Comm). I think we can also
agree that most of the articles published in these magazines are
overwhelmingly concerning writing, communication, project management, or
tools.  I have never seen a technical article in ANY STC magazine. Maybe
they exist, but I never saw one in the years I was an STC member. 

While it may be true that many purely scientific and engineering manuals
do not pay for submissions, these journals are usually asking
professionals to document the TECHNICAL work they are already getting paid
to do. This is part of the process of research. You document your results
and have peers review that research. The journals are, in a sense, helping
the scientists by distributing their research for other scientists to
review. 

This hardly compares with technical writing and the STC magazines. First,
there are no "centers of documentation study" that I know of.  Most
technical writing programs in schools are masters level programs at most. 

Second, technical communication hardly qualifies as a "scientific"
endeavor. I find it humorous how tech writers fight to maintain their
differentiation from technical and scientific people in terms of skills
and expectations - yet they want the same kind of respect and prestige
that comes with accomplished scientists. Doesn't work that way. Many of us
got into tech writing because it was a little bit of both worlds. You
cannot expect to be treated as a scientist unless you are engaged in
scientific research. 

Which leads to my third point, writing and communication are not in the
same league as true scientific research. Therefore a journal of technical
communication simply does not have the clout to demand free research. I
have a friend who has slaved for 10+ years working on supercooling atoms
to study their effect. He published an important paper last year about his
work. 

His work does not come close to my thoughts on RoboHelp or FrameMaker. His
work is purely research oriented, with virtually no basis in commercial
application. Technical writing is squarely based in commercial or
governmental application. This puts us in a significantly different
category.  

Now, were the STC topics more TECHNICAL in nature, there may be something
to review. If STC journals were discussing technology concepts, you could
make a weak argument that they were more research oriented and therefore
warranted some peer review. But since the content is grounded in
commercial use - peer review is ludicrous. 

Furthermore, when organizations ask scientists or engineers to write an
article about a topic that is NOT directly related to their research,
there is almost always some kind of payment. This may be money, a stipend,
or an opportunity to present the information at a symposium. Usually the
organization will absorb the cost of the travel for the scientist or at a
minimum, reimburse them for their time. Part of the membership dues is
access to respected, accomplished people who are contributing their
cutting-edge work to a symposium of peers. 

I am sorry but articles about how to manage single-sourcing simply do not
measure up to this level of academia. Not to mention the fact that the
majority of topics are merely thinly disguised advertisements for the
technical writers presenting the information. 

Of the scientists and engineers I know, they would consider it rude and
offensive to have to PAY MONEY to present work that they DONATED to an
organization. Why would anybody who was truly a leader in their field
donate their hard work to an organization and then turn around and have to
PAY to present it.  That is simply ludicrous. 

The way I see it - if I donated free research to STC, the LEAST they could
do is waive my membership dues for a year. Seems fair. I donated a lot of
time, $110 would make it worth it. But they don't. 

The problem with STC and its numerous forums (meetings, conferences,
periodicals, etc.) is that they claim to be professional and academic.
However, because there is no compensation, minimal competition to do the
work, and people must PAY for the opportunity to present, the forums
become merely vanity in nature.  People use the forums to market
themselves or their consulting company.  As a reader or audience member, I
feel cheated. Why should I pay money just so I can listen to a sales
pitch? Do you pay the car salesman when you walk on the lot? 

I don't mind advertising, but when I pay $110 a year to belong to a
professional society, I do so to network with peers and learn techniques.
I don't join so I can be a subsidized marketing effort by STC officials
and their private, very-much-for-profit, consulting firms. 

Moreover, when a periodical is vanity in nature, it is hard to respect or
trust any of the material in that forum.  Its the same with vanity books.
Nobody considers them "legitimate" because they are self-published. 

I don't think any of us are opposed to donating our time or our work,
George. Its just that STC is out of line with reality. I am sorry, but you
are not going to convince me that the 10+ years my friend has worked on
research into supercooled atoms is synonymous with some consultant's
thoughts on FrameMaker! Not only is that insulting to the thousands of
scientists out there devoting their lives to their research, its
presumptuous and arrogant. We are not scientists, we are writers. We're in
a different league.

That does not diminish the importance or value of what we do, it just
fixes it more squarely to reality. Coding HTML is also not a scientific
endeavor, and as such there are no Journals of HTML Coding that require
free research from their members. 

Andrew Plato 




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