Re: Non-technical, Technical Writers -Reply

[Lisa Comeau <COMEAUL -at- CSA -dot- CA>]

>>> Andrew Plato <aplato -at- EASYSTREET -dot- COM> 05/06/98 02:44pm >>>
<SNIP>
The question was: when faced with someone who has misrepresented
themselves
as a technical person, what do you do?  How do you handle a person
who
clearly cannot deal with the technology yet are supposed to write about
that
technology?  Do you help them? Fire them?  Stick them in an editors
position?  What is the answer to solving the problem of non-technical,
technical writers?
<SNIP>
What do you do with a dog that can't learn to use newspapers instead of
the new rug? What do you say to a child that tells you they can play
piano, but REALLY can't? What do you do with that cleaning lady who
only cleans the counter top once a week?

Pardon me, but last time I checked, company policy was to check out
potential employees THOROUGHLY before hiring them, and have
standards in place for this stuff... unless you own the business, or are
willing to mentor this "lowly" tech wanna be, it's not your problem.

You either help them learn exactly what your company's definition of
"technical writer" is, take them under your wing to see if they can be
taught, or can their sorry butt, just like you have contingency plans for all
the above situations BEFORE they happen. (Of course, if you really are
worried about this, you do everything in your power to keep it from
happening in the first place.)

Lisa Comeau
IS Super-User/Trainer
Canadian Standards Association
comeaul -at- csa -dot- ca

"If a mime aflls in the forest, does anybody care?"