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The entire situation is calming down because all the parties involved
have reached a state of utter exhaustion.
I think we didn't invest enough, up front, to get everything running
smoothly before we got into a production situation. We did do a pilot
and we learned a great deal, and had some success.
But, a pilot cannot test everything. We now have 3 writers and an
editor banging away on the documents and we're experiencing problems
with our tools, our processes, and the loss of our production tools
specialist (she got so burnt out on the entire scheme that she's left
to raise horses in another part of the state).
The fiasco on-list helped me realize that I was drowning and that
there was no rescue 911 available. Oddly enough, the entire process of
messing up the communication to the list highlighted for me that I was
out-of-control and probably heading for a nervous breakdown.
Our product offerings have doubled. Our staff has been reduced. They
aren't even looking for a contractor to act as an interim while they
look for a new tools person (there was another position that was
recently vacated and they couldn't fill it and the tools person, so
we're slowly shrinking.)
In the week since, I've calmed down a lot. As much as you can without
running naked through the long grass after the dissolution of all
society. Or something.
I think I've even worked out the crazy thing with my email editor (if
this all comes as one long mumble, then that statement is
over-confident).
Maybe I'll write a DITA Horror story; the dracula king kong invades
the helpless city.
Wanda
--
Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which
differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people
are even incapable of forming such opinions.
Albert Einstein
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