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.
I plan on spending more time mulling over what you're proposing, but a
couple of quick thoughts present themselves:
>If we want to have a World Wide Web or use C++, we have to have
ironclad
standards. Not so with English, where our complex brains are much more
forgiving of spelling and syntax mistakes. I'm sorry if this seems like
I'm
stating the obvious, but I think it needs to be stated if you're talking
about standards for tech writing and using computer industry standards
as an
example.
Yes, it bears stating that natural language will always resist the kind
of structure found in computer languages. The closest analogy I'm
suggesting to a computer industry standard would be something like an
XML schema. It can define the order and structure of a document's
content elements. That's why I chose the word schema, because I think
that if this is a good idea an XML schema would be an excellent way to
implement it.
>Perhaps what you're suggesting would be a Microsoft "Manual of Style
for
Technical Publications" expanded to include... well, I'm not sure. What
are
you looking for that you wouldn't find in such a book?
What I'm suggesting would be a set of rules that define WHAT goes into
MicroSoft's--or anyone else's--Manual of Style. And WHERE it goes, and
HOW it's presented. So that, for example, in any standard-compliant
document, the use of commas, or boldface, or conventions for naming doc
files, or whatever, would be found in, for example, chapter 3, paragraph
2, and start with a reference to the manual they recognize as
authoritative, followed by the exceptions they take to these rules,
followed by any more restrictive rules imposed on top of the referenced
manual, etc. Structure the information.
Tim
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Check it out! Get some cool freebies when you buy RoboHelp! You'll receive
SnagIt screen capture software and a 10% discount voucher for RoboHelp
Consulting. This special offers expires March 29, 2002.
www.ehelp.com/techwr
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
