RE: Tina the Techwriter Reopens the Great Debate

["Jones, Donna" <DJones -at- zebra -dot- com>]

Alice is hilarious because she comes right out and says the things that we
wish we could say. Haven't you ever wanted to tell some induhvidual right to
their face that you're saving a scoffing sound for when they turn to leave?
:-)  (Or have you ever had to leave the room before you did?)

Poor Tina is hysterical because she's a perfectionist in an imperfect world.
If they all suddenly cleaned up their acts professionally, the minutia that
Tina currently obsesses over would disappear, and she'd have to find
something else to fuss about or go mad. She happens to be a tech writer, but
she could hold any other job and be just as ineffective. Personally, I think
she's on her way to becoming a highly paid, pointy-haired boss (though her
hair is round and Alice's is pointed...).


I have to admit to being at least a little like Tina in that cartoon (maybe
a lot--depends on who you ask!). How difficult is it to set up your e-mail
program so it automatically spell checks your messages? There are still the
occasional things that aren't caught (missing words, subject/verb agreement,
or a typo that creates a different word), but at least you don't look like
you're just learning how to read or type. Some adults write messages with
the same spelling and typing abilities as my 7-year-old. Is that how people
want to come across? I tend to be fairly grammatically correct in my
everyday speaking and writing because that's the way I think. Does everyone
else think in sentence fragments riddled with dangling modifiers, split
infinitives, and phonetic spelling? The Tina in me shudders at that thought!

Donna

------------------------
Donna L. Jones
Technical Writer II
Zebra Technologies Corp.
Vernon Hills, Illinois
djones -at- zebra -dot- com




-----Original Message-----
From: eric -dot- dunn -at- ca -dot- transport -dot- bombardier -dot- com
[mailto:eric -dot- dunn -at- ca -dot- transport -dot- bombardier -dot- com]
Sent: Thursday, June 10, 2004 10:13 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Cc: TECHWR-L
Subject: RE: Tina the Techwriter Reopens the Great Debate



"Downing, David" <DavidDowning -at- Users -dot- com> wrote on 06/10/2004 10:43:56 AM:
> Sometimes I wonder whether the folks who don't like Tina are
> displaying a bit of sexism.  Maybe they feel that it's okay 
> for a man to have an abrasive personality but not a woman.

What?!? Are you reading the same comic strip I am?

Alice is difficult/abrasive/aggressive. She's also hilarious.

Tina is hysterical, ineffective, and obsesses over pointless minutia. She 
also never seems to be concerned with any of the real work at hand. 

Case in point: 
http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/archive/dilbert-20040606.html


Eric L. Dunn
Senior Technical Writer


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