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Subject:RE: Creating Technical Documents in Word From:<mbaker -at- analecta -dot- com> To:<techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Fri, 9 Mar 2018 19:32:23 -0500
So if you were a surgeon and the hospital told you to do surgery with garden shears and an office stapler, you would do it, right?
Professionals are not mere subservients. They have their own professional standards and the right and obligation to insist on them.
Admittedly, the choice of writing tools is not quite so critical as the choice of surgical instruments, but, all the same, a professional is absolutely entitled to expect to be provided with appropriate tools and an appropriate working environment. If they don't get them, they are not working in a professional environment. Your particular financial circumstances may not allow you to insist on professional standards at some particular moment, but in the long run, insisting on professional standards is the way to prosper in your career and exercise an appropriate level of control over your working conditions.
Mark
> I would never refuse to use a tool that my employer/client has chosen.
> That, to me, is extremely unprofessional. If I were a manager and heard that
> kind of refusal from one of my staff, I would give the option of using the tool
> or being escorted out the door. The correct answer to being told to use a tool
> you don't like is "Yes, Boss." Feel free to make your case for changing the tool
> but ultimately, the decision is not yours.
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Mike
> --
> Mike Starr, Writer
> Technical Writer - Online Help Developer - WordPress Websites
> Graphic Designer - Desktop Publisher - Custom Microsoft Word templates
> (262) 694-1028 - mike -at- writestarr -dot- com - http://www.writestarr.com
>
> On 3/9/2018 5:09 PM, dick -at- rlhamilton -dot- net wrote:
> > In the immortal words of Nancy Reagan, just say no.
> >
> > I know thatâs flip and probably unrealistic, but I think itâs also true.
> >
> > Unless youâre creating one-off, short documents that arenât part of a larger
> documentation set, Word is probably the wrong tool.
> >
> > Richard Hamilton
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