[mythtv-users] OT: Documentation?!?! (was Re: MythFrontend 0.21: What is a watch list?)

Jon jon.the.wise.gdrive at gmail.com
Wed Mar 12 15:47:42 UTC 2008


On Mar 12, 2008, at 8:31 AM, Brad DerManouelian wrote:

> On Mar 12, 2008, at 8:01 AM, Jon wrote:
>
>>> The only place I've ever seen dedicated tech writers was a
>>> non-profit. This was the sort of place where they would
>>> squander "whatever was left over" at the end of the year.
>>>
>>> Didn't matter if it was a place with 50 people or 50,000 or
>>> if it was a valley startup or a Global 200 company.
>>
>> Yea, tech writers cost money that could be put to use elsewhere. The
>> board of directors wants as much profit as possible, and they feel
>> that if you're paid to write code, then you should be able to
>> document it too. And honestly, where I work, if it makes sense, we
>> don't do it. I still haven't figured out how we're so successful...
>> (if you live in the US, it's VERY likely that we print and mail your
>> cell phone bill, your cable bill, and possibly your financial
>> statements, we also have a center in the UK)
>
> Maybe my experience is different because I do Quality Assurance and
> I'm quite good at it. ;) Companies are willing to pay a premium for my
> talents in that area so I normally get hired by companies that know
> the value of a good end-user experience - including good QA and
> Documentation. So to that I say maybe you're working at the wrong
> places if they're not hiring tech writers.

The question then becomes, are these companies publicly owned, or  
private enterprise. In my experience, private enterprise has  
generally got their shit way more together than publicly traded  
companies. When you give shareholders control of your company, they  
don't care about anything but profits. Honestly, there's no shortage  
of people that would like better documentation at my company...

And you're exactly right. I'm not working in the right place, but  
really, where I'm living right now, there's not a lot of well paying  
alternatives. That's the price of fresh air and peace and quiet  
sometimes, I suppose.



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