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RE: Due care (was RE: Benchmarking Technical Documentation)
Subject:RE: Due care (was RE: Benchmarking Technical Documentation) From:"Roy Jacobsen" <rjacobse -at- microsoft -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Tue, 24 Jul 2001 08:40:03 -0500
Bill Swallow wrote:
>*** How confident are you going to be that the slob
>*** writer suddenly decided to step out of character
>*** and check/verify the info, just for you?
>FWIW, I've read some beautifully wordsmithed crap, and I've read some
>horrifically wordsmithed dead-accurate info. I'll disagree with Andrew
to a
>degree - not all valid content is readable. BUT, most is somewhat
readable,
>and if the info's dead-on, I can overlook the poor grammar. So, I guess
I'm
>not confident in any info I read until after I've read and validated
it.
But I have to think that content vs. grammar (or vs. presentation) is,
in most circumstances, a false dichotomy. I've never worked in a
situation in which I had to make a choice between having the information
correct and the grammar/style/presentation done right.
If information is missing or incorrect, the document is flawed.
If the information is present and correct, but:
- the user can't find it using the "standard" tools (e.g. index, table
of contents), or
- the user can't understand it because of non-/sub-standard grammar and
style,
then the document is flawed.
Roy M. Jacobsen
Senior Editor, Documentation
Microsoft Great Plains Business Solutions
One Lonetree Road
Fargo, ND 58104-3911
USA
roy -dot- jacobsen -at- microsoft -dot- com
If the people don't want to come out to the park, nobody's going to stop
them. -- Yogi Berra
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