Re: STC Letter to the Editor

[SteveFJong -at- aol -dot- com]

Well, now. I will do Bruce the courtesy of responding to what he actually 
wrote.

In his posting, Bruce wrote:

>> Inevitably, [judges] start comparing not on execution, but
>> on personal or fashionable preferences ... Even worse,
>> they start to make decisions on personal considerations, 
>> rather than merit ... In general, I consider prizes of these sorts -
>> whether they're local STC competitions or the Booker Prize -
>> to be exercises in PR and chances to bestow favors.

Fix: To influence the outcome or actions of by improper or unlawful means: 
fix a prizefight; fix a jury. [American Heritage Dictionary] As I wrote, 
Bruce effectively says our various publications competitions are fixed.

Bruce supports his claim by stating, "[A]nyone experienced enough to be a 
judge would *probably* [emphasis mine--sfj] also have the connections to know 
 which company and which writers were responsible for any local entries." His 
warrant is that judges will give awards ad hominem--to the person, rather 
than to the entry.

In my response, I said that I don't know who wrote what, to which he 
responded:

>> Come on now. If you know the company, the chances are you have some idea 
>> of who works there. Not always, but some of the time ... [F]rom my own
>> experiences judging awards, there's a constant temptation to make
>> decisions on such criteria as who has won before or who deserves a break 
...
>> [I]t strikes me as disingenuous to pretend that it doesn't happen,
>> if only as a way of breaking a tie.

Come on yourself. If the best you can commit to is "some of the time" and 
"constant temptation," you have no basis to question either my integrity or 
the truthfulness of my statement.

As I said, the Boston chapter has 1,000 members. Most technical writers in 
the area aren't even members, so the pool of entrants is even larger. In 25 
years I haven't even met all my local peers, much less analyzed their 
individual styles, and the average Society member only has about five years 
of experience. To claim that even "some of the time" judges can be aware of 
who wrote what entry is far-fetched. To leap beyond that to suggest that 
judges give out awards ad hominem is unjustified.

How shall I put it? You project your own biases on others. On behalf of the 
many people who organize and judge the competitions, here in Boston and 
elsewhere around the Society, I resent your patronizing attitude and your 
unwarranted aspersions. I for one am glad you no longer judge awards.

        -- Steve (who has books yet to judge *and* papers to grade)

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