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> On 29 Jan 2002 at 10:18, Glenn Maxey wrote:
> >
> > Right or wrong, if the candidate for a technical writing position
> > doesn't use Word - a common tool of our trade - correctly, they won't
> > use the other tools correctly either. Right or wrong, I extrapolate
> > that their tool-ignorance and tool-phobia isn't limited to Word's
> > features.
>
> And here I'll have to step in and disagree. I have NEVER had a tech
writing job where I
> needed to know Word. I used WordPerfect for years; now I use FrameMaker. I
use
> both these programs "correctly", if by that you mean that I don't format
on the fly but
> use the predefined styles (WP) and tags (FM).
>
> This means that I'm not a regular user of Word. Like others, the only
reason I have it at
> all at home is for when I have to deal with resumes, and even then that's
only because
> most companies won't take WP anymore.
>
> Does this mean I'm "tool-ignorant and tool-phobic"? No, it means that I
haven't had a
> need to learn the tool in-depth. I've learned to use more than 14
different word-
> processing applications thanks to a career as a temp; I can learn how to
use anything.
Um, I don't think Glenn was speaking to the issue of tool phobia, or even of
whether Word was a necessary TW tool. From the paragraph quoted at top it
looks like he's commenting on whether a TW uses the tool correctly, not
whether he uses the correct tool. There's a difference.
Lin, if you use WP and FM "correctly", then Glenn's paragraph above doesn't
apply to you. Apples and oranges.
And FWIW, I agree with Glenn's point.
--Doug Bailey
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