Re: Fw: Why do we put so many warnings in our manuals?

Subject: Re: Fw: Why do we put so many warnings in our manuals?
From: Tom Murrell <trmurrell -at- yahoo -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Thu, 1 Aug 2002 05:12:31 -0700 (PDT)


It seems to me that cultures vary, as does the litigiousness of various societies.
Then there are the opinions of different people within any given community as to
what is, or is not right. So I doubt that we'll resolve such issues as how hot is
too hot for MacDonald's coffee or whether it is the right of an injured person to
sue somebody regardless of how culpable the injured party may be themselves.

>From a Technical Writing perspective, it seems to me that what TECHWR-L needs to
focus on is that writers need to know the legal environment in which they are
writing. Writers need guidance from the Legal Department if there are any warnings,
cautions, or other comments to ensure that what is published is complete and
correct. Writers also need to notify management and Legal when they discover new and
interesting ways that the product can be abused or misused.

And all of this activity occurs in different situations in different industries in
different countries with different traditions and unspoken expectations. As a
Technical Writer, I can't fix the legal system, but I can see that my documents
conform to it and conform to the needs of my clients or employers.

=====
Tom Murrell
mailto:tmurrell -at- columbus -dot- rr -dot- com
Personal Web Page - http://home.columbus.rr.com/murrell/index.html Last Updated 07/19/02
--The opinions expressed in this email are mine...at least I think they're mine...I'm almost positive.--

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References:
Re: Fw: Why do we put so many warnings in our manuals?: From: Mark L. Levinson

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