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: renaming help From:Chuck Martin <techwriter -at- VNET -dot- IBM -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 8 Apr 1994 10:16:52 PDT
Caryn,
If you just put your print documentation online, I'd not call it help,
but rather online docs. OTOH, if you developed your Help first--nicely
chunked, task-oriented information--and then moved that to a print format
with corresponding introductory and reference material, then I'd say you
had good Help.
But Help isn't simply the docs put online.
And yes, I'd say you're stereotyping regarding gender actions. First,
the "expereince" you mention can be selectively filtered in your mind
to support your argument. Second, your experience alone shouldn't serve
to label classes of people. There's enough of that already being done
today by neo-Nazis, right-wing fundamentalist "christians," and others.
Chuck Martin
Information Developer, IBM
techwriter -at- vnet -dot- ibm -dot- com
IDIC: Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations
