Re[2]: Technic writers shall write good,

[Douglas Thayer <douglas_thayer -at- SMTPLINK -dot- SYSCOM -dot- COM -dot- TW>]

     Garret:

     The transgression that prompted this thread was an unsoliticed and
     hostile comment about another writer's grammatical mistakes. Your
     comments regarding professional pride and courtesy are well stated.
     But pride comes from within, and is best cultivated by example.
     Belittling a colleague in a public forum is a poor way to foster
     professional pride. One of the most enduring lessons that I learned in
     school (thank you, BGSU) was this: "By your editing, do not discourage
     the author from wanting to write."

     My coworker writes using English as a second language (don't try this
     at home, kids), and she is a subscriber to this list. Would you bar
     her from contributing because she sometimes has trouble with articles?

     Lastly, I think that most students would be more comforted than
     horrified to know that professionals sometimes <gasp> make mistakes.

     Douglas Thayer
     <douglas_thayer -at- smtplink -dot- syscom -dot- com -dot- tw
     Taipei, Taiwan, ROC

     "Watch where you spit your Betel Nut juice."


______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: Technic writers shall write good,
Author:  Garret Romaine <GRomaine -at- MSMAIL -dot- RADISYS -dot- COM> at smtplink-syscom
Date:    5/12/95 6:50 AM

I've managed to untie my tee-shirt, but I do want to point out that if you
take the example to the extreme, you could find a situation where a student
or other visitor joins the list and is horrified to find out that this group
has just as many (or more) examples of typos, spelling errors, and grammar
breaches as any other. I'd think that just out of professional pride, since
this is our livelihood and our passion, that we'd want to be more of a
"shining beacon" than just as mangled as the rest.

Plus, <rant nearly concluded> proofreading isn't just a case of polishing --
it shows that you have some courtesy and some pride in ownership. You can't
just get to the signature line, conclude that since you wrote it, it's
perfect, and push the send button, built-in spell-checker or no. You may not
have to read, re-read, undergo review cycles and put the e-mail under ISO
control, but I don't think you want to take your contribution too lightly. I
only know some of you through your e-mail postings, and as someone else
mentioned, if I see evidence of an inability to practice this craft, I do
"consider the source," even inadvertently.

Having said all that, I think this is a great list, and I wouldn't give it
up for the world. Being a one-person department, this is my chance to talk
about the fine points of writing without being embarrassed, and I've found
the insights and comments here to be one of the highlights of my daily
grind.

Garret Romaine
gromaine -at- radisys -dot- com