Re: IBM Style Guide is no longer available online

[Janet Swisher <jmswisher -at- gmail -dot- com>]

Yeah, the PDF that's floating around the net is lacking any cover or
copyright pages -- a strong indication that it's not an authorized
publication.

So, anybody outside IBM who has a copy of that PDF is probably violating
IBM's copyright. That seems unlikely to have any legal consequences, since
they're not depriving IBM of any revenue. But it's an ethical consideration
for professionals in a field that depends on copyright for its existence.

(Disclaimer: I recently became an IBM employee because IBM acquired my
employer. I have little knowledge of IBM policies. I do not speak for IBM.)

--
Janet Swisher, http://www.janetswisher.com


On Mon, Feb 15, 2010 at 11:26 PM, Stuart Burnfield <slb -at- westnet -dot- com -dot- au>wrote:

> Hi Smitha -
>
> This is IBM's internal style guide, which has been used by IBM technical
> writers for many years. For a short time (a couple of years?) IBM made it
> publicly available on their web site but it was withdrawn around late 2006.
>
> A later copy was posted briefly on the user-centred design area of ibm.com,
> probably by a well-meaning person in the UCD group. I assume that it came to
> the attention of senior legal or TW people within IBM, because it was
> quickly taken down.
>
> It's a good style guide, but there's nothing in there that's especially
> applicable to web applications. I strongly recommend the following
> publications:
>
> Read Me First: A Style Guide for the Computer Industry,
> By Sun Technical Publications (and edited stylishly by Techwr-l's own
> Janice Gelb)
>
> Web application design handbook: best practices for web-based software ,
> By Susan L. Fowler, Victor R. Stanwick
>
> Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works
> By Ginny Redish
>
> Good luck.
>
> Stuart
>
> ___________________________________
>
> At our organization we are looking towards creating a common user
> experience
> for web applications. We would like to adopt industry best practices and in
> my research I have across references to *IBM Style guide.*
>
> *But, online I am not able to find the IBM style guide and if any links
> point to IBM's designers front page.
>
> In this context I have come across few posts discussing about the IBM style
> guide, and wondered if anyone can please guide me to the correct link or
> post the document to my mail. *
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
>
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Use Doc-To-Help&#8217;s XML-based editor, Microsoft Word, or HTML and 
produce desktop, Web, or print deliverables. Just write (or import) 
and Doc-To-Help does the rest. Free trial: http://www.doctohelp.com

Explore CAREER options and paths related to Technical Writing,
learn to create SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS documents, and
get tips on FUNCTIONAL SPECIFICATION best practices. Free at:
http://www.ModernAnalyst.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