RE: Hostility towards STC

Subject: RE: Hostility towards STC
From: "Mark Baker" <mbaker -at- ca -dot- stilo -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Fri, 11 Apr 2003 16:01:14 -0400


John Posada wrote

> STC could have done so much more to further the professional technical
> writer, resulting in less unemployment, higher wages, and greater
> professional respect by those outside of the field,
> ...even garage mechanics have a better professional
> organization (ASE)
> behind them.

I disagree. STC could not have been any more than it is unless technical
communication were in fact a profession.

Being a mechanic is a profession. It has an established body of knowledge
that is actually necessary for successful practice.

Technical communication is not a profession. It is an occupation. Any one
technical communication job may have very specific requirements for
particular technical knowledge, but the skills that are common to all
technical writers are the skills that every educated person should possess.

There is nothing to build a specific body of professional knowledge or
practice around, and therefore nothing for a professional organization to
do. Given this, STC could hardly be more than it is, a place where people in
the same occupation can get together to share tips and techniques and
commiserate with each other.

That's not a bad thing for STC to be and it is not reasonable to expect it
to be more than that.

And please, let's all demonstrate an elementary grasp of contextual
ambiguity by not complaining that I saying that technical writers are not
professional.
---
Mark Baker
Senior Technical Writer
Stilo Corporation
1900 City Park Drive, Suite 504 , Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1J 1A3
Phone: 613-745-4242, Fax: 613-745-5560
Email mbaker -at- ca -dot- stilo -dot- com
Web: http://www.stilo.com

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References:
RE: Hostility towards STC: From: John Posada

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