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RE: Due care (was RE: Benchmarking Technical Documentation)
Subject:RE: Due care (was RE: Benchmarking Technical Documentation) From:KMcLauchlan -at- chrysalis-its -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 23 Jul 2001 16:28:37 -0400
I hope nobody thinks I'm taking the position
(in the straw portion of this discussion...)
that presentation outweighs content.
There are people who have the knack for technology
(and science, etc.) and who ALSO have the knack for
writing/presenting, and who prefer to *learn* the
former, but *do* the latter. Those are the people
who can, and do, produce accurate, usable content
that is clear and well presented.
Now, given that such people exist -- and we
are many, are we not? -- and given that both
of our shared capabilities give desirable results,
then we should consider the combination to be
the standard. Yes? No?
Certainly, you can have technically accurate
documents by forcing the techy people to
document what they create, but you piss them
off and you get work that may appear shoddy,
because you are working against their strengths
and their interests.
Certainly, you can have technically inept
writers produce technically accurate documents
by having the techy people spoon-feed them,
and wipe up after them, and put up with lots
of forever-newbie questions. But again, you
are pissing off the techy people, and using
up their time and energy.
Why not have people like *us* do the work we
enjoy, and do it well? Why not choose not to excuse
deficiencies in *either* content or presentation?
To be sure, we can agree that accurate, complete
content must take precedence. But let's not set up
a spurious dichotomy... a dichotomy that must be
spurious when fine and talented folks like us
are available. Yes?
Let's *not* give the impression that we think
presentation can routinely be ignored, when
it's a simple fact that people are put off by
shoddy appearances, and that it's hard to
separate the appearance of ineptitude from the
fact of ineptitude.
If you see a house only after it is completed,
and the walls are ripply and the trim is
poorly joined, do you really have confidence that
the framing, the plumbing, the wiring, and the
other hidden bits, are all done to a higher standard?
You do? Well then, I have a place that would interest
you. Bring your check-book. :-)
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