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As usual, Gene writes admirably; his hinting at how far TWs have
fallen away from being men of letters is sobering. The roots of
all writers and editors are in letters; typists and typographers have their
noble roots in printing technology. With DTP, those generalists with
a foot in both fields, + databases, programming and book design
had a slight advantage, however, what's bred in the bone....
For specialized tasks like letter-writing, would a specialist still
have the upper hand?
YJ
Gene Kim-Eng <techwr -at- genek -dot- com> a écrit :
Yes, I could see that from the dangerous perception of the
corporate landscape that sprouted forth fully formed from
"I've been asked to write a letter..." However, with due
allowance for possible past trauma the poster may have
suffered at the hands of the unscrupulous, arriving at that
perception directly from the original post without asking
for additional details about Deborah's individual situation
struck me as something other than "critical thinking," and
I'm going to refrain from expressing my view of continuing
to defend the perception even after Deborah provided her
clarifying details.
However, judging from the number of people who seemed
ready to jump to the same conclusion, it would seem that
getting stabbed in the back is a more common experience
among writers than I realized. Usually, what I observe and
experience in bad work environments is more likely to be
the result of incompetence and disorganization than evil
Machievellian scheming.
Gene Kim-Eng
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ned Bedinger"
> The poster said he is an individual who feels that the workplace can be
> opaque and boobytrapped with pitfalls (minefield was the expression).
> He's not delusional, the workplace CAN be a real snakepit. When he
> wonders why such Public Relations (not CRM, I would guess he meant) work
> suddenly gets routed to him, I see critical thinking. I think he's wise
> to follow his instincts in hoping to avoid the vicissitudes of being
> exposed to every drib or drab of the stuff that runs downhill. With no
> one else watching his six o'clock position, he's entirely right to fret.
>
> Honestly, one can understand the need for a technical writer without
> abandoning the self-preservation instinct, and I think that's what the
> correspondent was trying to say, if from the hip.
>
> Hope this helps,
Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
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Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007
Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more. http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com
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