Re: Asking SMEs (was Seeking counsel - yet another)
Trying to figure it out at least once or twice is never a waste of
time. You will get a much better response from an SME if you
ask "When I click on --- it does this, that doesn't seem to make sense to me, what am I not getting?" than "What does --- do?"
Definitely. If you can show that you've worked on the problem yourself, and explain clearly what you've done and what results you've have, then you're more likely to get not only a useful response, but a more detailed one, too.
Trying things for yourself also gives you provisional membership in the hacker subculture.By that, I don't mean the subculture of people who write viruses and launch DoS attacks, but the subculture of programmers for whom "hacking" - that is, exploring a problem or situation - is the major response to the world. It doesn't matter so much that you succeed as that you can prove that you've explored on your own. Once you've established that, then the real members of the subculture are usually very helpful. They don't care much for nursing, but they love to contribute to the exploration of a problem.
I'd go so far as to say that tech-writers who understand this mindset and adapt to it will have little trouble getting the information they need or the respect that they crave.
--
Bruce Byfield
http://members.axion.net/~bbyfield
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References:
RE: Asking SMEs (was Seeking counsel - yet another): From: Neumann, Eileen
Re: Asking SMEs (was Seeking counsel - yet another): From: Bruce Byfield
Re: Asking SMEs (was Seeking counsel - yet another): From: Gene Kim-Eng
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