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> I no longer freely give information to a company.
> My opinion formed after a 15 minute phone survey I did
> once for NutraSweet.
Is filling out a survey card for a new software package
or responding to a writer on his or her manual the same
as comments on which artificial sweetener you think causes
cancer? If a writer called me up and asked me if the font
size they used in their manual gave me a headache, or hey, was
it the *other* company's manual's font size that gave me a
headache, then I, too, would be annoyed. What I'm talking
about is filling out a card telling the writer/programmer your
problems with the manual/software.
> Now I ask how the information will be used before I
> answer any survey questions.
Good idea.
> Our career is based on
> communicating information; why should we do it
> for free or for a dubious purpose?
Maybe I'm just too new at this game, but if someone asks me
for my opinion on their work, I'll give it. If someone asks
me to write a manual for them, then I'll start charging. But
I certainly don't expect to charge a person a fee for writing
down a few thoughts, even if that is my career. I'll leave
that for the lawyers and doctors.
Shelly La Rock
larock -at- tycho -dot- arh -dot- cdc -dot- com
