Re: Wording too dense? OK?

[Peter Neilson <neilson -at- windstream -dot- net>]

I don't think our gathered minds are quite on target. The SME sees the 
tech writer as unnecessary and ignorant, liable to introduce error in 
any change that is made. Some of the changes that others have suggested 
indeed introduce errors, thus providing support for the SME's belief!

What aspect of "Unix" is in use? It appears to be the assigning of 
values to shell variables, which are the upper-case items. The SME is 
overlooking issues of context:

  - The shell in use. It's likely ksh. Google "man ksh" for more than 
enough info. But maybe it's some other shell.
  - Whether the variables are to be set as default (in /etc/profile) or 
per login (in $HOME/.profile).
  - The shell's syntax for setting (and for exporting) variables.

How should the non-Unix-educated tech writer approach the task? By 
asking for examples.

BUT PERHAPS IT'S NOT UNIX AT ALL!

That something is named xxx.bat indicates that we are within the MS-DOS 
(or Windows) environment, as does the pathname with backslashes (\) in it.

It's my belief that there is a major mismatch between the SME and the 
tech writer. If I knew more about the situation I would probably suspect 
that the tech writer is receiving disinformation, and that Scott Adams 
could make good use of it all.

The actual problem would then be one of management, not tech writing.


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