Re: What good is it if you can't find it?
It is simply that writers frequently do not consider the content important enough for them to take the time to understand.
Sure, and these are bad writers that create bad documentation.
But what about the other extreme that, e.g., Andrew sometimes seems to propagate? What is a writer who concerns him- or herself with nothing but content?
Sometimes, this is a writer who is lucky enough to work in a well-organized documentation department where others do the design work for him or her. But when that context isn't there, such a writer is making him- or herself nothing more than a glorified SME.
I agree with you that writers who do not take care to understand the content in enough depth cannot help but be bad writers. But IMHO a writer who only considers content also is a bad writer (unless there is somebody else to do the design stuff).
In the end, a good writer is somebody who can produce good documentation in a timely manner. And good documentation needs to be accessible as well as correct.
But, again, I do not dispute that writers who disregard content can never produce good documentation. (Except by accident ;-)
Regards
Jan Henning
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Jan Henning
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E-Mail: henning -at- r-l -dot- de, Web: www.r-l.de
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