RE: Baiting for the single source rant

["Glenn Maxey" <glenn -dot- maxey -at- voyanttech -dot- com>]

Hi Andrew,

I just wanted to thank you for rising to taking the bait and provide
your thoughts on single-sourcing. It has allowed for some interesting
discussion.

All of your points -- even in the edited format below -- are valid. If I
were to take issue with them, it would be along the lines that these
valid negatives are not so overwhelmingly convincing in all cases. To
make a point and to underscore some of your negative experience, you
generalized.

The negatives are not without some offsetting positives (not listed, but
buried in many of the responses). Some of us even see some of the
negatives as positive perks to the endeavor (like crude tools that
require customization and having to tweak the output later).

In your experience as a technical writer firefighting consultant, you
see and overcome the negative on a regular basis. It is your
bread-and-butter.

Thanks for providing your perspective.

Glenn Maxey
Voyant Technologies, Inc.
Tel. +1 303.223.5164
Fax. +1 303.223.5275
glenn -dot- maxey -at- voyanttech -dot- com





> -----Original Message-----
> From: Andrew Plato [mailto:intrepid_es -at- yahoo -dot- com]
> Sent: Wednesday, September 05, 2001 2:22 PM
> To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
> Cc: Glenn Maxey
> Subject: Re: Baiting for the single source rant

[Much snippage below}

> --- Glenn Maxey <glenn -dot- maxey -at- voyanttech -dot- com> wrote:
> > Hi Andrew,
> > 
> > Why are you being so hard on single-sourcing?
> 
> 1. It tries to be all things to all formats.  
> 
> 2. It unfocuses the writer into managing a large complex 
> process and crude tools and not the content. 
> 
> 3. Most of the available tools are crude, unpolished, and require
> extensive customization. 
> 
> 4. SS is often used to avoid the "real" technical writing work. 
> 
> 5. It destroys "contexutalism."  
> 
> 6. It is not always a time saver.  
> 
> 7. The output always needs tweaking. 
> 
> 8. Its value has been way overhyped in STC conferences. 
> 
> Is SS pure evil? No, its just overwrought. 
> 
> Just my thoughts.
> 
> Andrew Plato 

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