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McLauchlan, Kevin wrote:
> Anyway, I asked my original question because somewhere in the vast
> middle ground of writerly experience and access to users, people have
> tips and tricks and sources that some of us might not have considered,
> and I'd seen the mantra one time too many since last week. :-)
Anyway, the mantra is lifted from a larger context, a sutra if you must,
that describes the whole back and forth between writer and user. The
user must know the writer, too.
The fact that you can write the docs without knowing the user, and the
user can use the docs without knowing you, is a testimony to the power
of abstraction. If the details of the abstract user have been
anticipated and built into the product by omniscient engineers or added
later by empathic translators, you've got a charmed job.
If the support lines aren't ringing because your docs led to smoked
machines, it sounds like you can relax and enjoy the ride :-)
Ned "mantra ray"
>
> Kevin
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