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.
It isn't much, I admit, but it's what I have so far.
I hope it helps.
Mike Tassano <miket -at- ltx-tr -dot- com>
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<<<<<< Attached TEXT file named "TechFAQ" follows >>>>>>
Tech-Writer FAQ
Welcome to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) pages for the Technical
Writing mailing list, TECHWR-L. This file is on the web at http://www.best.com/~miket/TECHWR.FAQ.html
Major thanks to Eric Ray and Gregory Keith for contributions.
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Posting Policy
Part 1:
* If it is about technical communication and of general interest, post
it.
* If it is about technical communication and humorous, post it.
Part 2:
* If it doesn't relate to technical communication, don't post it.
* If it is a personal message to a single subscriber, don't post it. Even
if mail to that person bounces.
* If you aren't sure, don't post it.
* If it relates to language use but not technical communication, it
probably isn't appropriate.
* If it continues an irrelevant thread in any way (rebuttal, rebuke,
rerun, revision, remark), don't post it.
Part 3:
* Direct all commentary about this FAQ to "miket -at- ltx-tr -dot- com" , not the
list. For questions about the list, contact Eric Ray,
ejray -at- OKWAY -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot-
1. About the mailing list
o How do I Subscribe?
o How do I Unsubscribe?
o How do I post a message?
o What are "digests", and how do I get them?
o I want to stop my mail, but I don't want to unsubscribe because I
hate that confirmation process. What do I do?
o I stopped my mail using NOMAIL, and now I want reqular mail. What
do I do?
o I got digests, and now I want reqular mail. What do I do?
o I would rather read TECHWR-L through a newsgroup. Is this
possible?
o Who is the listowner and how do I contact him?
o Who is responsible for the information posted to the list, and
who controls what gets posted?
2. Putting down words
o What is document management software?
o What is the best editor/word processor/desktop publishing program
to use?
o Where can I get information about styles and style guides?
3. Net issues
o
4. Acronyms
o SME
o STC
5. Of a general nature
1. Is there a bibliography I can look at?
2. What's the contribution of visuals to learning?
3. What is STC and how do I contact them?
4. How do STC and TECHWR-L relate?
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Answers to Questions
1. How do I Subscribe?
Send an email message to "LISTSERV -at- vm1 -dot- ucc -dot- okstate -dot- edu". Do not
put anything in the subject field. In the body, put
"SUBSCRIBE TECHWR-L Firstname Lastname"
and send it off.
2. How do I Unsubscribe? Send an email message to
"LISTSERV -at- VM1 -dot- UCC -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU". Do not put anything in the subject
field. In the body, put
"UNSUBSCRIBE TECHWR-L"
and send it off.
3. How do I post a message?
To send a message to all the people currently subscribed to the
list, just send mail to TECHWR-L -at- VM1 -dot- UCC -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot- This is
called "sending mail to the list", because you send mail to a
single address and LISTSERV makes copies for all the people who
have subscribed.
4. What are "digests" and how do I get them?
Digests are daily mailings which include all postings to TECHWR-L
from the last 24 hours. These are unedited, and unmoderated--they
just give you one big message instead of many little ones.
To get digests (assuming you are a subscriber), send a message to:
LISTSERV -at- VM1 -dot- UCC -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
Leave the subject line blank, and include on the first line of the
message:
SET TECHWR-L DIGEST
5. I want to stop my mail, but I don't want to unsubscribe because I
hate that confirmation process. What do I do?
To stop your mail (assuming you are a subscriber), send a message
to:
LISTSERV -at- VM1 -dot- UCC -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
Leave the subject line blank, and include on the first line of the
message:
SET TECHWR-L NOMAIL
6. I stopped my mail using NOMAIL, and now I want reqular mail. What
do I do?
To change back to regular mail, send a message to:
LISTSERV -at- VM1 -dot- UCC -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
Leave the subject line blank, and include on the first line of the
message:
SET TECHWR-L MAIL
7. I got digests, and now I want reqular mail. What do I do?
To change from digests back to regular mail, send a message to:
LISTSERV -at- VM1 -dot- UCC -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
Leave the subject line blank, and include on the first line of the
message:
SET TECHWR-L MAIL
8. I would rather read TECHWR-L through a newsgroup. Is this
possible?
Look for bit.listserv.techwr-l. If you don't already have access
to it, ask your system administrator to help.
9. Who is the listowner and how do I contact him?
Eric Ray is the owner. His address is
EJRAY -at- OKWAY -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot-
Telephone number is 405/744-6301
10. Who is responsible for the information posted to the list, and who
controls what gets posted?
The listowner and Oklahoma State University are not responsible
for anything posted to the list. The list is public and
unmoderated, so people who choose to post claim full
responsibility for anything posted under their respective
addresses and userids. The POSTMASTER@ is the only other person
with any control over individual postings from any userid.
11. What is STC and how do I contact them?
STC is the Society for Technical Communication, and is main
professional organization for technical and scientific
communicators. Any questions, comments or suggestions for STC
should go to:
Society for Technical Communication
901 N. Stuart Street, Suite 904
Arlington VA 22203-1854
703/522-4114
12. How do STC and TECHWR-L relate?
They don't officially. Many STC members are on the list, but most
aren't. Many list subscribers are STC members, but some aren't.
13. What is the best software to use?
There isn't any one program that fits all needs. Choice often
depends on taste, finances, and history.
Some popular titles in DTP:
+ FrameMaker
+ PageMaker
+ Quark
14. What does SME stand for?
Subject Matter Expert, at least as most often used in this list.
15. What does STC stand for?
The Society for Technical Communication. You read more about them
at : http://stc.org
STC Office
901 N. Stuart St., Suite 904
Arlington, VA 22203-1854
Phone: 703-522-4414
Fax: 703-522-2075
Email: stc -at- tmn -dot- com
16. What's the contribution of visuals to learning?
The amount Visuals/Multimedia/Video/etc can increase learning
retention:
10% of what we read
20% of what we hear
30% of what we see
50% of what we hear and see
70% of what we say and write
90% of what we say and do
The above quote was adapted from Edgar Dale's "Cone of
Experience"--it appeared in Educational Media by Winman &
Meierhenry and was published by Charles Merrill in 1969.
17. Where can I get information about styles and style guides?
XEROX PUBLISHING STANDARDS, A Manual of Style and Design
Xerox Corporation, Watson-Guptill Publications, 1988 ISBN
0-8230-5964-2
18. What is document management software?
A decent guide to document management appears in the April 10,
1995 issue of Computerworld, pp. 87 - 94. The article covers
everything from basic DTP to storage, routing, and retrieval at
the individual, group, and enterprise levels.
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