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Re: Fw: Why do we put so many warnings in our manuals?
Subject:Re: Fw: Why do we put so many warnings in our manuals? From:CHRISTINE ANAMEIER <CANAMEIE -at- email -dot- usps -dot- gov> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Tue, 30 Jul 2002 17:52:17 -0400
Two of my fellow "Generation Xers" wrote:
> It's really bad with my generation (genX). There's this sense
> that we should be able to do whatever we want and not take on
> the consequences of those actions.
and
> Greed makes up the mindset of a lot of our lazy Generation X.
Urgh. Please, let's not generalize like this. There's something grating about
the "[category of people I belong to] are really [derogatory description],
except, of course, for me" theme. I see it on Slashdot a lot, and it seems to be
emerging in here today.
Some people are foolish/greedy/selfish/whatever--whatever their age, gender, or
geographical location. I doubt that any particular group has a monopoly on these
traits. And if you (the generic you, not just the folks quoted above) think that
the majority of the people you know are mean, dumb, and unscrupulous, I really
have to wonder where you're hanging out. Most of the people I know are pretty
decent. Ask yourself: why the misanthropy?
It would be a stretch to tie this back to tech writing--we've veered off the
path--but... it seems like "Why do we put so many warnings in our manuals" is a
recurring theme that, for some writers, boils down to " 'cause users are
idiots." If we start thinking that way, watch out, because that hostility will
seep into our writing.
Snorky snorky.
Christine
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