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Subject:Re: Dealing with engineers' input From:RoseCrowe <ncrowe -at- PRIMENET -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 6 Jan 1995 12:13:57 -0700
On Thu, 5 Jan 1995, Bonni Graham wrote:
> I'd say, though, that reaction depends on the commenter. If it's
> someone who's going to scrutinize the next draft to see if the suggested
> change is there, a simple "thank you" is only going to earn you extra
> discussion later. If the edit REALLY stinks, I try to dig deeper as to
> why the person wants it -- sometimes I've been able to get to the
> helpful suggestion buried in an unhelpful edit. Of course, sometimes
> there isn't one, either.
Sometimes the suggestion is around a sentence or paragraph that is
either technically wrong or awkwardly constructed. (We can't win
them all). Either way the text needs attention, and the suggested
rewrite may be just as awkward. I sometimes say, "Thank you. I
can see the sentence needs attention. I'll work with what I had
and what you suggest and see what I can come up with." I am,
after all, the writer. I have admitted the need for change,
acknowledged the help, and still reserved the responsibility
for the final edit for myself.
Rosie (NorthCrowe)
ncrowe -at- primenet -dot- com
rwilc -at- fast -dot- dot -dot- state -dot- az -dot- us
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