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Subject:Proper use of the language From:R2 Innovations <R2innovations -at- MYNA -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 18 Sep 1997 23:01:50 +0000
<mount soapbox>(That'll get their attention)
I am really surprised to listen to 'so-called' professionals argue
over the use of words which have been laboured (that how we spell it
north of the 49th parallel) with negative connotations taken totally
out of context. Ooops, laboured likely ticked somebody off!! Oh
well.
It reminds me of a recent situation where an entry I submitted to a
documentation competition was judged. Our local chapter exchanged
entries with another chapter - I won't name it out of respect for the
mambers who, I'm sure are more realistic - for judging. The booklet had
been put together with no budget to promote ISO 9000 within a
company environment and I had used some clip art to fill up large areas
of white space. The images were chosen because of their
appropriateness to the subject matter being discussed.
You can imagine my shock to receive evaluations labelling me sexist
and racist. It seems there were more white images than coloured (meaning
black), and more male figures than female!! It had never entered my mind to
count noses to see that everyone was adequately respresented.
Have we as a society, and more importantly as a profession, sunk to
this level of pettiness? Can we not read something, take it in context,
and not spend time and effort trying to find hidden, negative,
politically-motivated, or otherwise undesireable meanings to what we
have just read? If we have sunk that far, maybe I should be looking
at another profession that is without so much emotional baggage.
<dismount from soap box>
Ralph E. Robinson
Author of the book "Documenting ISO 9000: Guidelines for
Compliant Documentation" available through R2 Innovations
in Mississuaga, Ontario.
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