On Tue, 29 May 2001, NeTDeMoN wrote:
> I doubt a writer has the technical knowlege to document XPCOM, except in a
Then you have summarily disposed of the best person to do the job. The
whole concept of quality is that you use those best fitted for the job
to do the job.
> rare occasion. Part of being an engineer is the ability to write technical
> documentation. That is why, when you take an engineering degree, you are
> required to take writing courses. Mozilla 1.0 is not going to be the end of
The assumption that a few writing classes makes someone a writer is
hilariously reductionist. Nor is writing well a principle attribute of
many engineers (so writing is not subsumed in being an engineer). That
much history speaks loud.
> the project. It is going to go on after that. As for the current process, in
> my opinion - it sucks. There is not a documentation, and the documentation
> that is around is outdated and incomplete. If developers don't like writing,
> then in my opinion - tough! They should do it anyway. Either that, or there
> needs to be technical writers hired to learn how it all works and write
But you'd best not use writers -- after all, people that know how to
write can't possibly be as good at it as people who majored in
Something Else. Also, lacking above is any concept of those who
know both writing and programming (as I held out in my original
email), or of the tech writer who can grasp technical concepts
quickly. Instead, aspersion.
> about it. But, I have more faith in the documentation being correct if a
> developer writes it. The developers don't have to spit out a glossy piece of
> work, either. They just have to spit out something that someone else can
> make glossy.
The above attitude is precisely why technical documentation is
usually of low quality. Such adherants refuse the overtures of those
who major in clarity and then turn around and wonder (not unlike
Hamlet) why the outcome is the way that it is. To patrionize those
usually responsible for documentation is at best, unwise, and at
worst, damanging not only to your own credibility, but to the
credibility of Mozilla participants as a whole.
You also missed my point about the whole nature of quality (early
involvement).
~Mike
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