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Paul C. writes:
<< Boy, do I ever wish you luck. The peer review system, if it is not
closely (and I do mean closely) monitored will turn the process of career
development into institutionalized character assassination. >>
<the rest was just as good, but snipped for brevity>
Paul is dead on. For illustration, I have a peer review anecdote that dates
from my days as a journalist with an "alternative" newspaper (translation:
the pay was very low). The paper came out on Friday, and on Monday morning
we'd literally tear that baby to shreds. The writers would rotate through
the responsibility, and if you didn't have a thick skin, you might get red
in the face, weep in despair or quit in disgust. The freelancers who wanted
to get on staff permanently were the worst: it was their chance to rip us
staffers apart. Anything went: story angle, depth of reporting, phrasing of
the lead, use of quotes, length, editing...
The reviews were never overly cruel or personal, but they were thorough.
Many of the writers have since gone on to edit their own magazines or
publish novels, and they were good at their craft. Very good. Anyway, I'd
undergone about two months of this, and was more or less holding my own.
Then it was finally my turn. My first comments as we sat down: "Geez,
revenge is sweet: a cover story from the editor and a book review from the
publisher all in my issue -- It's like I died and went to heaven. Now let's
just look at why these guys have been kicked upstairs."
Peer reviews in journalism work because everyone knows in seven days there
is another one. That continual rotation means you'll get your chance to
defend yourself and a chance to inflict punishment, but in the interest of
team-building, you have to remain professional. With technical writing, and
lengthy, erratic droughts between publication, I'd think wounds would fester
longer and resentment would grow. Only the most deft of managers could ever
pull something like this off without it leading to mortal kombat.
Garret Romaine
gromaine -at- radisys -dot- com
"You gonna pull those guns or just whistle 'Dixie'?"
