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Subject:Re: Boring Discussions From:"John P. Brinegar" <johnbri -at- PRIMENET -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 12 Dec 1995 09:23:02 -0700
Williad Brooks said
>I am a recent new subscriber to this list and am also wondering a bit
>about the boredem factor (mein angstliches Gefuehl ist, dass die
>Langweiligkeit dieses Listes die Verklichkeit von technischen Schreiben
>spiegelt). That is, as a soon to be new graduate who is looking into TW
>as a possible career option, I am wondering if this boredom does not
>reflect the field of TW itself. <snip>
>I really want to fall in love with the idea of becoming a technical
>writer, could somebody please help convince me that the above impressions
>are wrong?
I don't for a moment believe that our profession is boring. It's endless
postings about grammar and rhetoric that are boring. The exciting aspect of
technical communication is that the profession is changing so rapidly.
Here is a copy of a recent exchange between me and Eric Ray:
>Hello again, Eric
> The purpose of tech comm it to help our users do their jobs quickly and
> well. Just giving them reams of perfect text isn't the best way to do this.
> I have said this a few times on TECHWR-L and the response has been nil.
Eric's reply:
>YES YES YES!
>And WHY don't people understand it? People freely post complete garbage,
>then others ask me where they should post messages about technical
>illustration or applying HTML to a specific situation. Sigh.
>Suggestions would be welcome--I'm frustrated.
I replied that I think it's because people find it so darn hard to move out
of their comfort zones. The opportunites for we tech communicators to
contribute to the obviousness of the systems we support and to minimize the
need for training and documentation are boundless. In my opinon, many of
those who don't catch onto this concept will not be tech writers for long.
-----------------------------------
John P. Brinegar, http://www.netzone.com/~jbrinega/
Consulting and development
-Performance support systems
-Technical communications
Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A.
(602) 278-7398
johnbri -at- primenet -dot- com
