Re: Culture, or What it means to be a Technical Writer

[Mark Baker <mbaker -at- OMNIMARK -dot- COM>]

K R Wolfe wrote

>If everyone faced the user as engineers, why do we need writers?

I don't know what this means. It certainly isn't what I suggested.

To clarify, my point is that our work is collaborative with that of the
engineers, not remedial of it. We co-operate with them in the common task of
providing the user a usable product. We share a common focus and a common
purpose. We contribute a different set of skills and perform a different set
of functions in the creation of our common product.

We are co-creators, not translators, not remediators.

As professionals with a common interest in usability, we often offer
usability suggestions to engineers, and they often offer usability
suggestions to us.

Of course, there are bad engineers who don't understand or care about
usability. Heaven knows there are bad writers who don't know or care either.
But the suggestion that technical communicators, as a profession, exist to
make up for a lack of concern for usability on the part of engineers is a
grave falacy.

>The world is not made of engineers.  The world is made by engineers.

So much for God then...  ;-)

---
Mark Baker
Manager, Corporate Communications
OmniMark Technologies Corporation
1400 Blair Place
Gloucester, Ontario
Canada, K1J 9B8
Phone: 613-745-4242
Fax: 613-745-5560
Email mbaker -at- omnimark -dot- com
Web: http://www.omnimark.com