Re: Not Wanted--Technical Writers

[Beth Agnew <bagnew -at- INSYSTEMS -dot- COM>]

Chris Hamilton wrote:
(snip)
> I challenge anyone without substantial technical experience to document
> our product (a multi-tiered distributed application server) without
> going way past deadline or irritating the hell out of the developers
> trying to meet _their_ deadlines.

Yeah, let's see those poets tackle an API manual or explain client/server
computing in 25 words or less. :-)

Also, Nora Merhar, who has expertise in the Automated Call Distribution
arena, noted that the two explanations in Example 1 in that Washington Post
article convey different information. That holds true for Example 2 as
well. Too bad the writer of the Post article couldn't pick that up. Of
course, not being a technical writer ...

If we can extrapolate from the examples in the article, what that company
does is reposition information. They're adapting technical material for a
non-technical audience (sales/marketing). As we know, that's quite
different from writing for a technical audience. Both types of writing are
necessary, but I wish the article had made them sound less mutually
exclusive.

--Beth

Beth Agnew
Senior Technical Writer, InSystems Technologies Inc.
65 Allstate Parkway, Suite 100  Tel: (905) 513-1400 ext. 280
Markham, Ontario, Canada L3R 9X1        Fax: (905) 513-1419
mailto:bagnew -at- insystems -dot- com    Visit us at: http://www.insystems.com

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