Re: Personal POV

["Martin Page" <mpage -at- csl -dot- co -dot- uk>]

Roll on the debate! It's illuminating watching the ideas unfold.
M

PS: Mine's a mead served in the skull of my "favourite" engineer.

"Doc" <doc -at- vertext -dot- org> wrote in message news:165742 -at- techwr-l -dot-  -dot-  -dot- 
>
> I've seen a couple of comments on the list recently about threads
> deteriorating. As one who possibly contributes to this perceived entropy.
> I'd like to make a personal comment.
>
> I am a great believer in the positive effects of discussion and even
> argument. Only through the continuing give and take of intelligent minds
who
> see the world, and our profession from different angles do we progress.
>
> I see the world from the point of view of someone who has more than 20
years
> in the field of software documentation as a writer, editor and manager.
> Prior to that I developed training, worked the phones in technical
support,
> and yes ... worked as a professional programmer. I have seen, made, and
> corrected thousands of mistakes in that time.
>
> My opinions are strongly held and often vehemently stated. I may, at
times,
> sound monolithically arrogant. Sometimes that is because I do believe that
I
> have the only right answer, but often it is a rhetorical ploy to see if
> anyone can punch a hole in it.
>
> At times I catch myself being a bit over the top and remember the
professor
> in the movie "The Paper Chase" saying something like, "at times you may
feel
> that you have the right answer, I assure you that nothing could be further
> from the truth."
>
> It seems to me, from Eric's occasional rule postings that this board is
> meant for this kind of discussion. If it were limited to questions about
> tools and other operational questions this would be a boring place to hang
> out.
>
> Certainly, if you find the discussion of single-source (Andrew you're just
> plain wrong <g>) or that concerning what kind of technical knowledge is
> needed for the job (Andrew ... oh ... I already said it didn't I) then you
> should feel free to ignore them.
>
> I know that I not only enjoy them, I get educated by them. I can think of
> little that I would enjoy more than to sit across the table from Andrew,
or
> any of the others who may take issue with the content of my orations, with
a
> glass of Laphroaig (preferably the 16-year-old) and spend an evening
> swapping war stories and dueling over the philosophy of technical writing.
>
> But, we live and work in a world that is made small most effectively by
this
> medium, so TECHWR-L becomes the tabletop, over which I raise my glass and
> toast my partners in crime.
>
> Please, if you don't like the arguments, don't read them. But don't
> disparage them either, this is the way some of us learn and grow.
>
> L'chaim!
>
> -Doc
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> David 'Doc' Lettvin
> VerText
> "Versatile Text for reusability and globalization"
> http://www.vertext.org
> vox: +1.978.468.1105
> fax: +1.775.248.0508
>
>
>
>
>



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Want to support TECHWR-L? Get shirts, bags, hats, clocks,
and more from the TECHWR-L Store. All proceeds support TECHWR-L.
http://www.cafepress.com/cp/store/store.aspx?storeid=techwhirl

Check out the new release of RoboDemo, our easy-to-use tutorial software.
Plus, buy RoboHelp Office in August and save $100 with our mail-in rebate.
Get details and download free trial versions at http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l

---
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.