TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:(Against) sneaking your name in From:Mark Levinson <mark -at- SD -dot- CO -dot- IL> Date:Wed, 15 Feb 1995 10:03:06 IST
My favorite place is in screen grabs. (...) I make sure to use my own name
at least once. (...) I often include names of programmers, testers, etc.,
** Particularly in companies like some I've worked for-- small companies selling
expensive products to small markets-- the gag may not stay private. The
development engineer whose name is on the screen may pop up a month later at
a client site. Using identifiable in-house names in a screen grab (like
using DEMO and TEST as file names, or using joke names such as Q.T. Pye or
whatever) is a hint that your product does not exist in the real world
yet, or that you don't know what's out there if it does. If you want users
to believe that your product is really usable, the examples should at least
seem to portray real-world use.
I try to keep my name out of the manual. True, no customer would
recognize my name, but if I sneak mine in then I'm not in a
position to keep more sensitive names out if other folks feel like
ego-tripping.
__________________________________________________________________________
||- Mark L. Levinson, mark -at- sd -dot- co -dot- il -- Box 5780, 46157 Herzlia, Israel -||
|| You can't judge right by looking at the wrong. - Willie Dixon ||