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.
Winning example of the Worst-Technical-Writing ...
Subject:Winning example of the Worst-Technical-Writing ... From:Gwen Barnes <gwen -dot- barnes -at- MUSTANG -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 9 Feb 1996 22:09:24 GMT
-> The winning entry of COREComm's Worst-Technical-Communication-
-> Sample-of-the-Month Contest was a classic submitted by Sue Gallagher.
-> The following instruction appeared in almost every set of steps in a manual
-> I rewrote:
-> 1. Type the field name Name in the Field Name field.
-> ---------------------------------------------------------
I unearthed this gem in one of our own manuals, written by a colleague
who has since gone on to pursue opportunities elsewhere ... It's a
manual for a programming language, and this is one of the code examples
that illustrates the use of some command or other:
KeepGoing = InputYesNo("Display large lumps at a time? ")
While Not(EOF(1))
Ctr = Ctr + 1
Rem Check every so often if large lumps displayed
If (KeepGoing) And (Ctr > MaxCtr) Then
etc. etc. etc.
The question going around the office today is whether or not this
example of how to display a text file to the console with or without
pauses would violate the new "Communication Decency" legislation :)
Cheers, 805-873-2500
Gwen gwen -dot- barnes -at- mustang -dot- com
MSI * Connecting the world WWW, Telnet, FTP: bbs.mustang.com
@DISCLAIMER@ ` Free speech online `
