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:Re: Request for change From:Kris Olberg <kjolberg -at- IX -dot- NETCOM -dot- COM> Date:Sat, 10 Feb 1996 09:39:49 -0800
I agree with Eric.
Some of you newbies have indicated that you "need" some of the stuff
appearing on the list. Remember, regarding grammatical issues and spelling,
you probably have the same education as most of us senior writers. This
means you have the resources to make your own decisions in these areas.
Often, I don't have the time to even "skim" the list. This is due mainly to
volume. What I end up doing most of the time is deleting most of the list
content without reading it. So what is my "delete criteria"? The subject
line. If the subject contains anything that even remotely implies a
grammar/spelling/word usage topic, I delete it.
Over the years, I have found that sweating the small stuff is a waste of
time. Early in my career, I wrote a lot of manuals for IBM. The particular
IBM plant for which I wrote would often assess writers' abilities by
counting the number of typos, grammatical errors, missed editorial comments,
etc. Never mind that a writer failed to write an entire chapter explaining a
key feature of the software.
The bottom line ... focus on big issues. I want quality, not quantity. I
want thought, not instant responses. These threads may require months to
resolve. Sure, they're alot of work, but the payback will be huge.
Regards...Kris
--------------------------------
kjolberg -at- ix -dot- netcom -dot- com (preferred)
kjolberg -at- aol -dot- com
102031 -dot- 3556 -at- compuserve -dot- com