Re: What's on topic

Subject: Re: What's on topic
From: Beverly Parks <bparks -at- HUACHUCA-EMH1 -dot- ARMY -dot- MIL>
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 1995 07:15:21 MST

Going against my better judgement--and fully expecting a form
letter from Eric--I cannot resist comment on this.

> a) Responsibilities as an IBM employee (shared by many non-writer types):
> - fill out time sheets
> - don't discuss confidential information
> - protect data integrity
> - don't abuse equipment
> - wear shirt, shoes, and pants

> b) Responsibilities as a _technical writer_ employed by IBM (unique to
> writer types):
> - write documents
> - single source online and hardcopy
> - coordinate multiple writers of a single book
> - write online help
> - test usability of docs
> - research multi-platform singlesource strategies

To me, "protect data integrity" sticks out like a sore thumb in
the primarily administrative list of items in a). Almost like it
was forced in there with a crow bar just to prove a point.

Data integrity (or media protection) is just another way of
protecting our *documents*--you remember, those things we get
paid to produce. As someone in an earlier post said, this falls
in the category of document management, *not* in the category of
administrivia.

I didn't contribute to the original thread that launched this
discussion--and I probably shouldn't be contributing now--but
this just struck me as analogous to a statistician arranging the
numbers to reflect the results he desires. The numbers aren't
wrong, but their arrangement on the page makes a whopping
difference to the story they tell.

Now I'll recede to my corner and await the flames to which I
will not respond. :>

=*= Beverly Parks -- bparks -at- huachuca-emh1 -dot- army -dot- mil =*=
=*= Huachuca : That's pronounced "wah-CHEW-ka" =*=
=*= "Unless otherwise stated, all comments are my own. =*=
=*= I am not representing my employer in any way." =*=


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