Professionalism?

["Hart, Geoff" <Geoff-H -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA>]

Jim Shaeffer, wondering about "The golden rule - whoever has the gold makes
the rules.": <<Is there a point at which a Tech Writer is obligated to step
outside that 'golden rule' mode?>>

Professional ethics suggests that we make every effort to point out where
circumstances prevent us from doing our best work, where our best work has
ethical consequences (e.g., someone might get hurt because we're not
producing good documentation), and where we could be doing better work if
someone will let us, among many other things. With the exception of King
Midas, most rulers have some leeway in how they obtain their gold, and if we
can make a persuasive case about how to solve a problem, said rulers can
often have their directions changed.

Where the situation is sufficiently offensive, we often have the option of
taking our skills elsewhere.

--Geoff Hart, FERIC, Pointe-Claire, Quebec
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
"User's advocate" online monthly at
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