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I may have missed this part of the certification discussion and if so,
please excuse me. But the fundamental issue to me that I've not read about
is: who decides what to certify? 100 software writers or 20 hardware
writers? STC members? Will those with degrees be given precedence over or
those of us with real-world experience? If we vote on it, what assurance
is there--pick your majority: those with degrees versus those without,
hardware writers vs software, extroverts vs introverts, etc.--that the
majority won't tyrannize the minority?
I worry about this because I've seen how people can get when they feel
passionately about something. Too many of us will defend our positions
beyond reason. Heck, take a look at what happens on techwr-l and ask
youself how often has an important issue (or even a minor point of
contention) been resolved by compromise? Never? Then try to imagine what
it'll be like when there's no listmom to cut things short as you're trying
to justify giving your skillset more prominence in the final certification
criteria.
I wouldn't care to be the one tasked with putting the criteria together
(having once been on a team of writers developing a style guide was bad
enough!) and I certainly don't want to entrust my livelihood to a group
who may not share or value my skillset and who may far outnumber others
like me. But show me a way that we can make the process a fair one, and
I'll be be willing to change my mind. "Fair" being defined as: "My
knowledge and experience are just as valid as yours, so let's build a set
of guidelines that accommodates both of us, if possible. Otherwise, forget
it."
Have a great weekend everyone and don't forget the quality time!
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