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Unsolicited Advice for Technology Writers (2014)

27 pointsby thomasjbevanalmost 4 years ago

5 comments

dredmorbiusalmost 4 years ago
Desplite the original title (HN&#x27;s clarified it), the topic isn&#x27;t <i>technical writing</i> as might be presumed, but <i>writing on technology</i>, and mostly the sort of pie-eyed, overly credulous and bombastically optimistic variety that&#x27;s often found. Even, occasionally, on the pages on Hacker News.<p>The list is a set of tired tropes which occur with some frequency.<p>It&#x27;s short. There are links to expanded discussion. The context is a 10-year blog of the author&#x27;s on the larger topic of technology and technological criticism, and yes, there&#x27;s a book, pay-what-you-can, CC-licensed: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;gumroad.com&#x2F;l&#x2F;CWRfq" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;gumroad.com&#x2F;l&#x2F;CWRfq</a><p>I might have added, substituted, or amended a few items, most especially that there is actually something of a <i>history</i> and <i>philosophy</i> of technological criticism, but that&#x27;s me. The latter point <i>is</i> picked up in the blog at large and the book.<p>For an item I very nearly passed over on account of its original title, this is actually an intruiging find. Thanks to thomasbjeven for turning it up, and L.M. Sacasas for writing it.
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geocrasheralmost 4 years ago
11. Don&#x27;t refer to anything as simple just because it is simple to you.
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drewcooalmost 4 years ago
&gt; in no particular order …<p>And what follows is an ordered list. Of mostly unsubstantiated nonsense explained in bloated language. That opposite of what I&#x27;d expect from good tech writing.<p>Is this a satire? It feels like something out of McSweeney&#x27;s.
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rcptalmost 4 years ago
&quot;The craft of scientific writing&quot; is a great book btw.
johncla99almost 4 years ago
Wait...I was a tech writer for 20+ years at a major software developer. To me, a tech writer is someone who documents apps or APIs. If true, I don&#x27;t see what this article has to do with tech writers.
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