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While i agree that there is a risk of projecting the wrong image of yourself by spewing out frustration about this type of clash on a (pseudo) public forum, this kind of situation, in which your ability to do your job efficiently is being affected by non-writers who want you to do things their way, just *because*, is something that tech writers often come up against. And where else can we discuss how to deal with situations like that, if not here?
The original post got confusing in the last two paragraphs, but the way I interpreted it, the reviewer is maybe not (?) the person who hired her; he's a developer who is reviewing the content she produces. If that is the case, its inappropriate for him to dictate how to handle trivial matters of style. Express his opinion, sure, but not order her to do things his way. Egos aside, it's a waste of time to have to change list punctuation back and forth depending on different people's preferences. In the absence of an in-house style guide, I say it's the tech writer's authority to make that call, not his.
If he is, in effect, her supervisor and/or the person who as up to this point been managing the documentation and will do so after her contract is done, its definitely not worth getting miffed about it or challenging what he wants. In effect, he IS the in-house style guide, so I'd just take the freakin' periods off.
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+lynne -dot- wright=kronos -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com <techwr-l-bounces+lynne -dot- wright=kronos -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> On Behalf Of Lauren
Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2018 3:27 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: dealing with inflated ego
I would avoid saying on a searchable public forum that my client has an "inflated ego," engages in "control-freak meddling," and is not "in their right mind." I would also avoid suggesting passive-aggressive responses like saying someone should "Start dissecting the comments in his code." Or saying, "Thanks, but I only need you to comment on instances of incorrect or incomplete information.... you don't need to worry about punctuation style issues... that's my job." Or saying, "I can get rid of those periods if you want. You're the boss. But, if someone comes along and questions it, I don't have anything to defend the action. Your call."
As a general inquiry to the list, why are there so many passive-aggressive and emotional responses to this situation? This subject of dealing with different writing styles escalated quickly into an odd sense of technical writer superiority over clients and their audiences. E.g., What technical writer in their right mind would get an inflated ego to engage control-freak meddling and start dissecting comments on punctuation style issues and tell their clients they should only comment on instances of incorrect or incomplete information because the technical writer won't defend the action of changing the writing to suit "the boss"? Does the 55 word question feel good? Will clients who may be mentioned in the technical writers' profiles appreciate such characterization?
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