Re: Occupational hazard of techie tech writers

[WPAINE <WPAINE -at- LANIER -dot- COM>]

     I might being playing catch-up on this thread. Sorry if my comments
     echo those already said.

     IMHO The way we can avoid failing our users is to identify them and
     make the choice to write for them.

     Explaining to someone internetwork communications this weekend was an
     excellent opportunity for me to practice what I write. A guest on
     board our sailboat did not understand why she couldn't "see" into
     other domains from her AOL account. Rather than explain in terms like
     nodes, FTP, packets, and domains which meant NOTHING to her, I
     explained it in metaphor. She and her "access" were in one cubicle and
     she had to "tell" her system (read PC) to talk to another domain in
     next cubicle. She readily grasped the concept that the "communication"
     could go over the wall around the wall or even through it once it was
     told to do so.

     Simplistic, you bet! Did she need the techy mumbo jumbo, no. She got
     what she asked for in terms and concepts that she could use.

     I wish writing were that easy.

     Too return to my point. We should have a through understand of are
     subject matter, maybe even be an SME if we can. We have to digest the
     information and present it in terms and at a level that our users can
     use. Identifying audience is a must to write successfully. If we fail
     to ID them properly, or at all, then our prose is going to fail them.

     Thanks to all for letting me spout.


     Bill Paine
     Sr. Technical Writer
     Lanier Worldwide
     Wpaine -at- lanier -dot- com

     "Just because I am crunchy and may taste good with ketchup, I do not
     eschew the affairs of dragons and other such beasts."


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