PCness and Life

[Donna Menk <Donna_Menk -at- PC -dot- RADIAN -dot- COM>]

OK, I tried, I really tried to stay out of this.

However.

There's an issue here that no one has spoken to yet. First, some
background.

I'm pretty long in the tooth, so I remember the days when I was asked
in interviews what birth control I was using. And I answered, because
It Was Expected Of Me. Shameful days, but that's the way it used to
be, folks. We *have* made some progess. And for that, I am eternally
grateful.

I also vividly remember being fired ('scuse me: "laid off"--love the
wording) from a job when I wouldn't, uh, cooperate with a supervisor.

I can still look myself in the eyes when I brush my teeth, though,
y'know? And I wouldn't trade that for all those weeks on unemployment,
wondering how I'd support me and my kids and my dog and my
mortgage...Life does go on. But an innocent trusting in the motives of
others was stolen from me.

I'm a relative newbie to this list. My reason for joining the List was
to learn, to participate in a discussion of The Art of Writing (near
and dear to my heart, the reader of aspirin boxes that I am). I didn't
really think I could contribute all that much.

Except...

Remember our cardinal rule, fellow aspirin-box-readers. Know your
audience.

That's a toughie, when you're in an open-room discussion group like
this. I've corresponded with several of you privately, I know some of
you personally, but... there are many of you that I don't know. I
don't know your backgrounds, I don't know your hot-buttons, I don't
know you [yet] well enough to talk to you in the same voice I would if
you were down the hall from me (and within range of my bizarre sense
of humor).

So...my one bit of wisdom that I offer before you is this: (oops! is
that colon in the right place? Oh, to h*** with it!)

                     Know your audience.

We're very fortunate here in that we're all in this strange community
devoted to communication. Short story here: I got popped on an STC
award-review one time because I used the phrase "guys" in a manual (it
was in the obligatory techie section that I'd successfully buried in
an appendix. I said something along the lines of "You don't need to
read this section; it's for the guys in the back with the soldering
irons..." It's not something I'd say in writing now, but it was an
innocent remark. After having grown up with the Southern "y'all"
collective pronoun, I'd picked up the Northern "you guys" collective
pronoun. Wrongwrongwrong. OK. I learned from it.) Oh, BTW, I'm female.
The judges didn't know--nor would the readers--and I was properly
chastised. Colloquialisms don't always translate.

Nor do jokes or off-hand remarks.

Sad? Yes, indeed. But sadly true.

So, before you speak, aloud or with your writing, know your audience.

And in the meantime, I'll try not to shy away from your attempts at
humor that scare me (having been burned so badly earlier), if you'll
try to understand that I must know you before I can trust you enough
to appreciate your joke.

Back to my deadline,
Donna
and her evil twin Skippy, who made her say all this
(and if you're old enough to recognize Skippy, you're old indeed!
Oh, my! I just violate my own advice. Oh well... I'm paid to write,
not read.)