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.
When documenting what we call a turnkey system (that is, all the
components are included - the idea is "plug-and-play"), I once called it
a turkey system. Luckily, one of my reviewers caught it in draft form.
I wasn't so lucky when I had several thousand reference guides printed up
for a telephone user's interface that instructed users to press 1 to
rewind, 2 to pause, and 3 to fast forward. It should have been 7, 8, and
9. The options I described actually erased the message!
Fortunately, my boss was very understanding and even laughed about it,
but he'll never let me live it down!