TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Should STC be on this list? Yes. From:Stuart Selber <sselber -at- MTU -dot- EDU> Date:Wed, 28 Jul 1993 07:35:43 -0400
Chuck Banks write:
> I agree some of the sessions were on a basic level. I too would
>like a selection of presentation levels, perhaps the tried if not true
>BASIC and ADVANCED. If Binion Amerson is reading this (he headed the
>Organization committee for the Dallas ITCC) perhaps he can give us an
>idea of which future ITCC we could hope to influence to include
>advanced presentations and workshops as well as basic. It may be too
>late to make such a change in the plans for next year's conference in
>Minneapolis.
I agree with Chuck in sentiment - it would generally be nice to have more
information about the presentations and what the speakers are trying to
accomplish in their discussions. We might work on developing a mechanism
for this. But we've all been to "advanced" presentations that were
disapointing for one reason or another, and "basic" ones that contributed
something new to our understanding of a topic. Besides, *who* would decide
*what* constitutes these two types of presentations? And, can we easily and
helpfuly divide up presentations this way?
I think a more rigorous review process at the level of proposal
acceptance/rejection might generally help improve the quality of the
presentations, although that's not a clear guarantee that people will
prepare as they should. We should also perhaps recognize that as
individuals, we have different needs and expectations that most likely will
get met in only small degrees at even the most interesting and useful
conferences. I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds meeting new (and old)
colleagues at least as useful and energizing as the sessions.
Stuart
Stuart A. Selber Department of Humanities Michigan Technological
University Houghton, MI 49931 email: sselber -at- mtu -dot- edu phone:
906-487-3252 fax: 906-487-3347