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> From: Jane Bergen [SMTP:janeber -at- CYBERRAMP -dot- NET]
<snip> How many people have you run
> into who, when you tell them you're a technical writer, laugh about
> "those computer manuals that no one can understand"? Those are the
> legacy of early tech writers who wrote mil specs or who understood
> the technology but failed as communicators. <snip>
>
I'm responding to Jane's post, but my comments are not directed
at Jane. The comment Jane made above I have heard over and over again
for years. Frankly, I think it's getting old. Today, when you hear
someone refer to "those computer manuals that no one can understand" it
is extremely unlikely that they are referring to the mainframe manuals
of yore. More likely, they are talking about manuals written within the
last five or six years. I think it is a cop out to continue to blame the
writer's of old computer manuals for comments being made today. (Unless,
perhaps, the comment came from someone who hasn't looked at a computer
manual for a dozen years.)
