SGML

[Anatole Wilson <awilson -at- VNET -dot- IBM -dot- COM>]

When discussing SGML with one of my profs at the college, he made the
comment that many engineers look at technical writers as people who simply
churn out text and really don't have to think much or concern themselves
with how the information is presented.
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I found this attitude much more prevalent when I worked for an
engineering company than in any of the software companies I've worked at.
When the previous editor there quit, she recommended me for the job (I
was working there as a word processor). On my first day as editor, the
project manager took me aside and showed me some of the re-writing the
previous editor had done. "Now, we don't want you to waste your time
re-writing what we write," he told me. "Just make sure the punctuation's
right and that the word processors don't mis-type anything." I understood
why the previous editor quit.

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He thought one of the main reasons
many chose technical writing as a career was to be generalists rather than
to be limited to one specific function.
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I'll plead semi-guilty to this. I'd hate to limit myself to writing for
one particular field or industry to the exclusion of all others. If you
look at it that way, I'm a technical generalist.

On the other hand, I consider my *specialty* to be taking technical
information, regardless of the specific industry or purpose, and
communicating it it clearly to a broader audience.

On the third hand, my personal definition allows technical
writing to exist in journalism, marketing writing, and even fiction
(as in "Jurassic Park"). So more "purist" technical writers may
consider me a "generalst" writer.

On any hand, labels are a pain.
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If writers don't have to concern
themselves with document design or layout, then their jobs become reduced
almost to a clerical function.  He said that would be the day when he
would do a job where he sat in front of a keyboard inputting text all day
long.
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Unfortunately, desktop publishing has made design a clerical function
in many companies; somebody develops a template and then the word
processors fill in the text. Contrary to that professor's opinion,
though, it seems to me that this situation puts more emphasis on the
organization and content of the text. (Of course, in that professor's
mind, the engineers have already put the text together.)
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What do others think?  Does SGML encourage this view?  Does SGML
threaten to turn writers into clerks?  Will it put writers out of work
altogether?
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Graphic Designers, maybe, but not writers, since, as I said earlier,
SGML will place more emphasis on content and organization than
design. Unfortunately, this will convince many managers that
one template is enough for any document, and that publication costs
can be greatly reduced by getting rid of graphic designers.
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In a popular introductory book on SGML entitled "Practical SGML" by Eric
van Herwijnen, the author says: "Authors are subject matter experts for
whom it is a waste of time to be concerned with typography or document
layout.  Some call it creativity, but inside organizations where the author
has free reign over format the result is usually an incoherent collection
of badly looking documents."

Do you agree with this statement?
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I'll plead guilty to designing some pretty ugly documents when I first
began handling desktop publishing and designing templates.  But that was
before I sought out the advice of graphic artists, read books on design,
and took classes.  The additional training made me realize how
important design and layout is in presenting a message.

Now, I think
I can competently lay out a document so that it's design complements the
material.  However, I also realize that my design skills do not surpass
"competence," and I'd much rather have a graphic designer on hand
to make the difference between "competence" and "excellence." The work
I'm most proud of are materials I developed while working closely
with a designer, as a team.

The potential danger of SGML, as I see it, is that the design of the
document will be in the hands of the viewer, who has no knowledge
of what is about to be presented. This viewer, who had no input into
the material, will be deciding almost arbitrarily how the document
should look. I think that has serious implications for SME's, writers,
and designers.

Just IMHO,
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Anatole Wilson                       "An invasion of armies can
Sr. Assoc. Information Developer     be resisted, but not an idea
IBM, Santa Teresa Labs               whose time has come."
awilson -at- vnet -dot- ibm -dot- com                               --Victor Hugo
all company disclaimers apply
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