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.
> I fail to see how sending a note to the entire membership and allowing
> anyone, even nonmembers like yourself, to inspect the blog and provide
> comments, represents a lack of grassroots involvement. Seems to me like a
> fairly open approach, n'est-ce pas?
My apologies: I should have said among the organizers.
> Assumptions make an ass of you and me, so I prefer not to assume, thanks
> very much. I'll wait and see whether they actually take any action. If they
> don't, I'll freely concede your points.
Fair enough. I could easily be wrong, and further developments could make that
obvious. However, I was observing what is there so far.
> I take as a given that using buzzwords doesn't inherently disqualify them
> from fair consideration.
Not in a theoretical sense, maybe, but, practically speaking, buzzwords and
sincerity don't often go together. I find it's a general rule.
> Any organization of ca. 20 thousand members is going to have a large number
> of people with complaints. Even if only 1 in 1000 people have an axe to
> grind (justified or not), that's still 20 complaints. I doubt any
> organization has that high a satisfaction rate, but that's beside the point.
And, aside from apologizing for an organization that's important to you, your
point is?
If the level of complaints was constant, then why would any action, cosmetic or
real, be taken? The move could have just happened, but, generally, a large
organization is more likely to respond to events than take the initiative.
> And it's been how many years now since you were last a member of STC and
> actually participated in or tried to shape any of their activities? And this
> qualifies you _how_ to pronounce on their motives and their current state?
It's called observation and analysis. You might re-read the Sherlock Holmes
stories for a fictionalized account of the methodology. I am very far from the
Consulting Detective, but my qualifications are raw ability and practice - to
say nothing of a steady stream of data from those I know who are in the STC.
>I doubly encourage you to participate if you've got a strong
> reason for not belonging to the organization.
While what you say sounds reasonable enough, it assumes that the organization
has value. Unsurprisingly, I disagree. I also have the historical sense to know
that organizations are rarely able to transform themselves. Consequently, I,
for one, won't be taking up your invitation. Thanks anyway. ;->
--
Bruce Byfield bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com 604-421.7177
RoboHelp for FrameMaker is a NEW online publishing tool for FrameMaker that
lets you easily single-source content to online Help, intranet, and Web.
The interface is designed for FrameMaker users, so there is little or no
learning curve and no macro language required! Call 800-718-4407 for
competitive pricing or download a trial at: http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l4
---
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.
