TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: what I recently heard From:Tom Murrell <trmurrell -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 14 Nov 2002 08:18:32 -0800 (PST)
--- Sean Hower <hokumhome -at- freehomepage -dot- com> wrote:
>
> i recently heard someone say the following:
>
> "I'd almost rather have it [the content of docs] be consistent and be wrong, than
> to have documents that aren't consistent."
>
> i didn't really know how to respond to this. I was kind of dumbfounded actually.
> What's a good way to respond to such a statement?
I'd say that's a good time for follow-up questions. What constitutes consistency?
What is this reader/user looking for?
When I think of consistency, at least what I would think of as useful consistency, I
think of having information presented in the same way across procedures or sections.
If one section is organized around, say, Background, Set Up, Procedure, I would like
to see all comment sections organized the same way. If procedures make extensive use
of graphic aids--screen shots, type face conventions, etc.--I'd like to see all
procedures set up the same way.
The benefit I see in such consistency is that I, as reader/user, can quickly
determine that I have the information I need. If some sections are done one way and
others another way, I might find it difficult to quickly isolate the information I
need (or determine that what I'm looking for is not in the documentation).
That's an off-the-top-of-my-head reason I can see for consistency. As for preferring
consistency over accuracy? Well, I just don't know about that one. I'd have to probe further.
=====
Tom Murrell mailto:tmurrell -at- columbus -dot- rr -dot- com http://home.columbus.rr.com/murrell/index.html Last Updated 10/28/02
--First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others.
Thomas a Kempis (1380 - 1471), 1420--
__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Web Hosting - Let the expert host your site http://webhosting.yahoo.com
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Check out SnagIt - The Screen Capture Standard!
Download a free 30-day trial from http://www.techsmith.com/rdr/txt/twr
Find out what all the other tech writers, including Dan, already know!
Order RoboHelp X3 in November and receive $100 mail in rebate, FREE WebHelp
Merge Module and the new RoboPDF - add powerful PDF output functionality
to RoboHelp X3. Order online today at http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
