RE: Yet one more - really need an explanation for this one

["McLauchlan, Kevin" <Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: 
> techwr-l-bounces+kevin -dot- mclauchlan=safenet-inc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr
-l.com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+kevin.mclauchlan=safenet->
inc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Kathleen MacDowell
> Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2009 12:29 PM
> To: Pinkham, Jim
> Cc: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: Re: Yet one more - really need an explanation for this one
> 
> I've noticed that responses to these types of questions often involve
> extensive re-writes to the content. I think that many of them 
> are excellent,
> and that they help raise questions about ambiguity in the 
> original content.
> 
> But I also wonder how much you apply similar types of 
> rewrites to your daily
> work?
> 
>  In my experience, the client often wants you to go with what they've
> written, so I try to work from that perspective as much as 
> possible. It's
> primarily a matter of choosing battles, because typically, there is
> important content that needs correction and multiple reviews. 
> With the time
> constraints everyone works under, it's hard enough getting 
> those reviews
> done without confronting them over relatively minor issues.
> 
> I can see the focus if one is working on a major aspect of 
> the content. For
> example, if the material is client-facing material on a 
> website or product
> release (e.g., perhaps the original posting), rather than as 
> part of the
> product documentation or a user manual. But if this were part 
> of a user
> manual, I'd argue that it would be more effective to do a 
> basic rewrite--so
> that it was accurate and grammatical--and leave it at that.
> 
> Please note that I learn a lot from these postings, so I 
> don't mean to be
> critical. I'm just curious how people typically deal with 
> these types of
> situations.
> 
> Kathleen


My stuff falls into two categories:


A) My words are golden... until I hit [Send] (or equivalent) and
suddenly the goofs and blunders are in 72-point electric fuschia,
flashing... with sirens.


B) My words are golden... and they're gone, and I've moved on to the
next urgency, when somebody from Sales-Eng sends an e-mail that they've
just had a chance to go over the docs for the recent release... see "A"
above.


Most of us don't have the luxury of having staff (or any other kind of)
editors available, and we all know that our own eyes trying to catch the
problems in our own work ... don't.  At least, not until some time has
elapsed, which usually means, see "A" and/or "B" above.

The same magic power that the e-mail [Send] button has, to lift the veil
on what we've just blatted to the world, is also imbued strongly in the
product-release milestone.

Ask developers/programmers about the similar magic of the "Code Freeze"
date.

  :-)

 - Kevin
The information contained in this electronic mail transmission 
may be privileged and confidential, and therefore, protected 
from disclosure. If you have received this communication in 
error, please notify us immediately by replying to this 
message and deleting it from your computer without copying 
or disclosing it.


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing 
solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor,  Microsoft Word or 
HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals. 
http://www.doctohelp.com

Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40web.techwr-l.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info. 

Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat