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.
Was Pros and Cons of including writer's name; now conventions use d
Subject:Was Pros and Cons of including writer's name; now conventions use d From:Toni Williams TPG/SG <towilliams -at- PROCYONGROUP -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 28 May 1998 15:34:42 -0700
In response to the question "What's wrong with a Conventions Used
Section?"
Scott Miller responded:
>Waste of paper. Provides no useful information. The only useful
>convention-type info I've seen is how to read syntax stuff, like [stuff
>in brackets is optional], and also what language programming examples
>are written in. Otherwise, stuff like "key names are presented in
>all-caps bold" is self-evident.
It seems to me that to consider ANYTHING _self-evident_ is one of the
stickiest tar babies by which a tech writer can be caught. One of the
first rules I learned was that if something can be mis-understood it
will be. The tech writer's job, as I see it anyway, is to make something
as impossible to mis-understand as possible. Sorry, Scott, I have to
differ.
Respectfully,
Toni Clark Williams
The Procyon Group
Documentation Department