atw: Re: Vale technical writing?
- From: James Hunt <jameshunt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:58:45 +1000
I think I'll have another bite or two at this one…
Most XML-based writing systems are used by the military and their dependent
corporations, and those systems usually reflect the military mind quite well.
Writers are considered to be rather like soldiers, are given no scope for
originality in presentation, are required to use a fixed tag set, and are
allowed no control over the final appearance of the work.
Large XML-based systems enforce the military model of writing very well.
I have observed that ex-service technical writers are quite happy, as a general
rule, to work under these conditions. But, as I have observed elsewhere, a
significant number of writers regard these working conditions as an
"Israelites-in-Egypt" situation: in slavery, endlessly making identical bricks
in an obscure corner of a military-industrial complex.
A significant part of our work satisfaction comes from the preparation of a
final product: the visual appearance of our product is important to us. If we
lose control of the design of the final product, we also lose some level of
work satisfaction.
A good writing system automates most formatting decisions, but allows for local
overrides. Planning the design of a document so that local overrides are
minimised is one of our skills: one that XML proponents seem to discount
entirely. Recognising where a local override is necessary, and carrying it out
efficiently, is another skill. XML proponents often exaggerate to the point of
parody the extent of local overrides in non-XML documents. Most overrides in
Word and FrameMaker documents, for example, seem to be just forced page breaks
and extra vertical spaces -- hardly dramatic stuff, and not any sort of reason
for eliminating local overrides completely.
JH
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