pc p c ieee s rofessional ommunication ociety …€¦ · 2 from the editor 3 president’s column...

he second of eleven IEEE ThirdMillennium Medals was presentedto James M. Lufkin at an awardsdinner in Minneapolis, Minnesota,

on 5 May 2000. The event was scheduledwith a meeting of the PCS AdCom—Jim’sfirst in more than 20 years. The ceremonywas attended by Jim’s family and friends, as well as AdCom members. Jim has beenretired for several years and lives in St. Paul.

First winnerin 1975 of thePCS AlfredN. GoldsmithAward foroutstandingachievementin engineer-ing communi-cation, Jimwas presidentof PCS twice(in 1968 and1975) andchair of threeconferences

on scientific journals (1973, 1975, 1977).The Millennium Medal was awarded inrecognition of his contributions to theProfessional Communication Society andas an indication of the important part hehas played in our history.

One of Jim’s distinctive contributions toour field was his authorship of numerousone-act plays dealing with problems ofcommunicating in engineering (seeNovember/December 1997 Newsletter).To celebrate his accomplishments, theawards dinner culminated in a presentationof one of those plays, The EmploymentInterview.

JULY/AUGUST 2000 VOLUME 44 • NUMBER 4

I E E EPROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION SOCIETY

N E W S L E T T E R

I N S I D E

2 From the Editor

3 President’s Column

6 Masters of Style

8 Net Notes

10 Professor Grammar

12 Highlights of MayAdCom Meeting

14 Audience Quest

15 Working Freelance

17 Tools of the Trade

19 Good Intent, Poor Outcome

20 C-A-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T

21 IPCC/SIGDOCRegistration Form

23 A Hint of IPCC/SIGDOC2000

24 The Golden Ring of Russia

PCS

This play was first performed at the Societyfor Technical Communication nationalmeeting in St. Louis in 1983 and it has hadmany performances since. Jim identifiesthe genre of The Employment Interviewas “tutorial farce.” In it, Adolph Glotz, the villain, (played by AdCom memberLuke Maki) interviews physicist Dr. Betty Wright (played by AdCom member Muriel Zimmerman) for a job in the Non-Euclidean Space Institute. Glotz is a care-less, insensitive, sexist boor who is neverable to fathom that Dr. Wright is an exceptionally qualified candidate for ahigh-level job.

The lessons learned from this play are frombad examples—what interviewers shouldnot do—and the dialogue is brisk andwitty. Jim designed a set of overheads toserve as ironic backdrop to the events onstage. One overhead displays Dr. Wright’s

resume, indicatingher Ph.D. degree in physics from the

PCS’S SECOND-ISSUEDIEEE THIRD MILLENNIUM MEDALBY MURIEL ZIMMERMAN

®

ISSN 0143-433X

T

(continued on page 4)

PCS past president Jim Lufkin

Oscar nominees Luke Maki and

Muriel Zimmerman

California Institute of Technology; anotherdisplays the job description for the posi-tion, providing the audience with solidproof that the self-absorbed Glotz hasnever bothered to think about what ques-tions he should be asking.

• IEEE Professional Communication Society Newsletter is published bimonthly by the ProfessionalCommunication Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., 3 Park Avenue,New York, NY 10016. One dollar per member per year is included in the Society fee for each member of the ProfessionalCommunication Society. Printed in U.S.A. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices.

• Postmaster: Send address changes to IEEE Professional Communication Society Newsletter, IEEE, 445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08855.

• Editorial correspondence: Rudy Joenk, 2227 Canyon Blvd. #462, Boulder, CO 80302-5680, +1 303 541 0060, [email protected]. Articles, letters, and reviews from readers are welcome. E-mail andIBM-compatible diskettes are preferred.

N E W S L E T T E R

J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 0 02

IEEE PROFESSIONAL

COMMUNICATION SOCIETY

OFFICERSGEORGE HAYHOE, PRESIDENT

BETH MOELLER, VICE-PRESIDENTED CLARK, SECRETARY

WILLIAM KEHOE, TREASURER

STAFFRUDY JOENK, EDITOR

PCS

F R O M T H E E D I T O R

RUDY JOENK

etter to the Editor

Professor Grammar's column in the May/June Newsletter caused

contemplation.

Slartibartfast, a character in The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio play,might easily understand “earthquakebuilding code update coverage.” He entersin “Fit the Third” (first broadcast on BBCRadio 4 on 20 March 1978; in print onpp. 66-67 of the script book, ISBN 0-330-29288-9; on CD in the second of a set offive, BBC CD6001) and soon admits tobeing a skilled builder of planets.

Certainly, if he can build planets, he canbuild the earthquakes they sustain. Inbuilding an earthquake he might adhere to a code. Like most codes, it might beperiodically updated (millennia in hisworld) to expand its coverage. So, in thedesign phase of an earthquake for a newplanet, he would consult a document enti-tled “Earthquake building code updatecoverage.”

Back here on the real Earth, excessivenoun strings challenge comprehension, asyou decry. But other Germanic languagessuffer similar fates in compounding nouns,most famously German itself. Norwegian is as cumbersome as German in its com-pounding, or perhaps worse, as its rules onthe matter are less rigid. Gerunds, declen-sional adjectives, and even prepositionsjoin nouns in compounds. Moreover, new compounds appear almost daily, most frequently in political debate.

Compounds challenge translation, asinvariably they are equivalent to excessivenoun strings in English. A single excessivenoun string annoys; repeating it may

destroy communication altogether. So Icope by rewriting, typically by using morepronouns and reflexives than in the origi-nal text. After a few years of using thisapproach, I have compiled two averagesthat reflect your earlier call for deletingexpletives (same Newsletter).

The word count of my English translationand rewrite almost always is the same or up to 1.5 percent more than that of theNorwegian original, principally because aNorwegian compound word usually trans-lates to two or more words in English.However, the character count goes downby six to nine percent. I have yet to under-stand why that is so, but suspect thatClaude Shannon's redundancy ratio of languages may be involved. English is efficient. Watchdogs such as you will keepit that way.

—Michael BradyAsker, Norway

Postal Communication Reminder

R. L. Nailen has reminded us that not allmembers use e-mail, as might be inferredfrom our “Alias the AdCom” feature eachJanuary. And, in fact, I recently read a statistic claiming that 95 percent of theworld population does not have access tothe Internet. Postal addresses for AdCommembers and chairs of principal commit-tees are on covers 2, 3, and 4 of each issueof the Transactions. My postal address is in the boilerplate at the bottom of page 2of each Newsletter.

On the Web

The January/February and March/Aprilissues of this Newsletter are available on


L

here are frequent discussions on the TECHWR-L e-mail discussion list for technical communicators(http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl)

about the need for consistent, repeatableprocesses for creating information prod-ucts, whether manuals, online help sys-tems, or multimedia presentations. Somelist subscribers favor a methodical approachto creating technical documents of allkinds, but others are vehemently opposedto defining a documentation methodology.

The latter assert that time spent frettingover how to produce an information prod-uct is time not spent writing, editing,designing, illustrating, and performing themyriad other tasks that technical and pro-fessional communicators do. Rather thanworry about elaborate methodologies, theysay, we should apply the seats of our pantsto our chairs and just do those tasks.

What Is the Communication Process?

It seems to me that the problem with thisobjection is that all technical and profes-sional communication—no matter whatthe medium, the length, or the elaborate-ness—benefits from the application ofreproducible processes. These processesinclude understanding customer require-ments, as well as user characteristics andneeds. They include careful analysis of tasksthat users must perform. They includedetermining how much information isneeded and how that information can bemost effectively delivered.

Reduced to its simplest form, the recom-mended method for technical and profes-sional communication is:

1. Plan2. Draft3. Test4. Revise

This approach is familiar to most IEEEmembers because it is essentially an engi-neering methodology applied to communi-cation tasks.

For more than 10 years, a significant partof my job was helping the informationtechnology department of a large companydefine its software development methodol-ogy. For more than 10 years before that, Itaught technical, business, and expositorywriting at the university level. In thoseroles I found that many writing studentsand software developers were as allergic to a methodical approach to their tasks assome technical and professional communi-cators are to theirs.

We frequently hear complaints about badsoftware, poor writing skills, and technicaldocumentation that no one reads. Is therea common causal thread here?

Why Do Some People Reject the Process Approach?

If the process approach to communicationtasks is effective, why do so many peopledismiss it? I think the answer is simple:Because, whether we admit it or not, manyof us want to expend as little effort as pos-sible in performing tasks we considerunpleasant.

Whether we admit it or not, many of usconsider communication tasks to be theleast desirable components of our jobs.Engineers are essentially problem-solversby inclination and training, and few proba-bly think of time spent on reports andtechnical presentations as productive.

Some professional communicators seem tothink the same thing. They would ratherdebate the readability of serif versus sansserif typefaces or learn the latest softwaretool for producing online help than plan,design, produce, and refine informationproducts.

The irony is that for engineers, communi-cation is an essential but peripheral part oftheir work. For communicators, it is theirwork; it’s the typefaces and tools that areperipheral.

“I just need to bang out this project wrap-up report to meet my manager’s deadline,”

N E W S L E T T E RPCS

V O L U M E 4 4 • N U M B E R 4 3

TGEORGE HAYHOE

P R E S I D E N T ’ S C O L U M N

METHOD AND PROFESSIONALCOMMUNICATION

Is there time to do thingsover but not to do them

right the first time?

J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 0 04


the engineer says. “I just need to get thisuser manual to the printer in time to shipwith the product,” the communicator says.Both say, “I don’t have time to plan, test,or revise it.”

It is axiomatic in too many businesses thesedays that there’s always time to do thingsover but never time to do them right thefirst time.

How Can We Overcome Our Reluctanceto Adopt the Process Approach?

When I taught writing, many of my stu-dents would listen dutifully to my adviceabout the communication process and thenrespond, “I spend all my time writing adraft. I don’t have time to plan, test, andrevise.” They didn’t see that they spentmuch of their time staring at a blank pageor screen, time that would have been more productive had they embraced theprocess approach.

So how can we overcome our reluctance totake an engineering approach to writingand other communication tasks?

For some, it’s as simple as working for theright company or the right manager. Theydon’t give us a choice; if we want to workfor them, we approach communicationmethodically.

For others, it’s a journey of discovery.After a time of wandering aimlessly when-ever tasked with a report, presentation,

manual, or online help system, we stumbleupon the process approach to communica-tion and discover that it works.

Some, however, will never see the wisdomof adopting a communication methodology.The loss is theirs—and their audience’s.

For more information about the engineer-ing approach to communication tasks, I recommend books by two winners of the Professional Communication Society’sAlfred N. Goldsmith Award for outstand-ing achievement in engineering commu-nication:

• Joan G. Nagle’s Handbook for PreparingEngineering Documents: From Concept toCompletion (New York: IEEE Press,1996) is an excellent introduction to thewriting process for engineers. Joan, theGoldsmith Award winner for 1989, pre-sents this information as “a handbook,conceived and arranged as an analog to other handbooks that engineers useregularly in their work” (p. xv).

• JoAnn T. Hackos’s Managing YourDocumentation Projects (New York: JohnWiley & Sons, 1994) does a superb jobof presenting a publications methodologyfor communication professionals. Thewinner of this year’s Goldsmith Award,JoAnn details “a way to produce high-quality documents consistently” (p. xiii).

So yes, just do it—but do it right!

IEEE THIRD MILLENNIUM MEDAL(continued from page 1)

The IEEE Third Millennium Medalshonor 3000 members who have made out-standing contributions to the Institute.The number of awards allotted to societiesand sections is based on size, allowing eachentity to receive a proportionate number—11 to PCS.

A presentation to Dr. Emily Schlesinger at her home in January (see March/April2000 Newsletter) was the first of our awardcelebrations, and the presentation to JamesLufkin was the second.

The year of the Millennium Medals will culminate in a special event atIPCC/SIGDOC 2000, at the BostonMuseum of Science on 25 September2000. Nine additional Millennium Medalswill be awarded to the following PCSmembers who will be acknowledged forthe significant contributions they havemade to the Institute and to the Society:Ron Blicq, Roger Grice, Rudy Joenk, BillKehoe, Herb Michaelson, Joan Nagle,Richie Robinson, Stephanie Rosenbaum,and Scott Sanders.

…the process approach to communication

…works.

V O L U M E 4 4 • N U M B E R 4 5


Luke

Mak

i

FROM THE EDITOR(continued from page 2)

our Web site in PDF file format athttp://www.ieeepcs.org/ and, about the timeyou read this, the May/June issue will bethere, too. The Web postings are sched-uled to occur about the time the succeed-ing print issue is distributed.

Instant Fame

If you’re going to attend IPCC/SIGDOC2000 in Cambridge,Massachusetts, 25-27September, I’d like tooffer you temporaryappointment as areporter (or photograph-er) for the Newsletter. A paragraph or twoabout each presentationin a session—what wassaid, not what’s in theproceedings—should be enough unless you’rereally “hooked” bysomething. E-mail me at [email protected].

AdCom

The final meeting of the year, which is theannual election meeting, is 24 September,2 p.m. to 7 p.m., preceding IPCC/SIGDOC2000 at the Marriott Hotel in Cambridge,Massachusetts. Members are welcome atAdCom meetings.

Potpourri

Crossed signals: College professorsdemand correct grammar from incomingstudents whereas high school teachers rankthat skill last; they care how students orga-nize their writing. From a survey by ACTInc. as reported in U.S. News & WorldReport.

Said to be Ernest Hemingway’s favoritesentence when he worked at the KansasCity Star: “He was punched in the nose bythe girl he was engaged to’s brother.”

AmericanGreetings.com says that 60 per-cent of adult Internet users prefer readingtheir e-mail to reading snail mail.

Denver International Airport (DIA)recently installed “a new way-finding sys-tem” featuring colorful signs with westernthemes. The east-side garage signs are bluewith images of animals (bear, rabbit, trout,etc.) and the west-side signs are red withimages of a horseshoe, a wagon wheel, a campfire, etc.

Medical Misdirectory: artery, the study ofpaintings; dilate, live long; nitrates, cheaperthan day rates; post operative, a letter carrier.From The Saturday Evening Post.

Info for Authors

One thousand words makes a nice page-and-a-half article, though longer andshorter articles may be appropriate.Proposals for periodic columns are alsowelcome.

If you use a wp program, keep your for-matting simple; multiple fonts and sizes,customized paragraphing and line spacing,personalized styles, etc. have to be filteredout before being recoded in Newsletterstyle. Headers, footers, and tables lead thecasualty list. Embed only enough special-ized formatting and highlighting—boldface, italics, bullets—to show meyour preferences.

If you borrow text—more than a fair-usesentence or two—from previously pub-lished material, you are responsible forobtaining written permission for its use.Ditto for graphics. Always give credit tothe author or artist.

I prefer to receive articles by e-mail; mostWordPerfect, Word, and ASCII files areacceptable. My addresses are in the boiler-plate at the bottom of page 2.

Deadlines

The 15th day of each odd-numberedmonth is the deadline for publication inthe succeeding odd-numbered month. For example, the deadline is 15 Septemberfor the November/December issue, 15November for the January/February 2001issue, etc. You won’t be far off—and neverlate—if you observe the Ides of September,November, January, and so on.

Let this be you at ourCambridge conference.


J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 0 06

It is not just what yousay that matters,

but how you say it.

M A S T E R S O F S T Y L E

s I was walking on campus the other day, I noticed some striking,deep blue flowers. What made mestop to drink in their beauty, I

suspect, had something to do with theirintense brightness, their saturation, con-trasted with the drab surroundings. I laterchecked my copy of Roy Hay and PatrickSynge’s The Color Dictionary of Flowersand Plants for Home and Garden; theywere Gentiana verna.

The experience caused me to reflect on theimportance of color to daily life in generaland to documents of various kinds in par-ticular. We most often see colors in combi-nations, rather than individually. Thesecombinations can indeed be impressive, as in the movie What Dreams May Comeand in many of the documents we regularlyencounter in hard copy or online. But in the blurring rush of things, we needoccasionally to slam on the brakes and see colors one at a time. It is a matter ofimproving our power of concentration, of focus, of appreciation.

Advertisers, of course, are picking up onthis idea in a clever way—the current (22 May 2000) issue of Time: The WeeklyNewsmagazine being a case in point. Itcontains no fewer than five ads entirely in achromatic colors (black, white, gray)except for one usually small part done ingreen or red or blue (see pp. 2-3, 27, 39,45, and 159), thereby calling attention tothe minimized color and, once noticed,making it memorable. Another four or fiveads in this issue are wholly in achromaticcolors but with two minimized color areas.

To assist in heightening awareness of colorand exposing the professional communica-tor to a writer whose colorful style meetsthe sole criterion for this column (that ithave a rich blend of form and content, i.e., genuine substance), I recommendAlexander Theroux’s The Primary Colors:Three Essays (New York: Henry Holt,1994) and The Secondary Colors: Three

Essays (same publisher, 1996). Both booksconsist of lengthy essays on color so thatone enters the world of each individualcolor and inhabits it for an extended time.

The first book delves into the intricacies ofblue (pp. 1-67), yellow (pp. 69-158), andred (pp. 159-268); the second into orange(pp. 1-108), purple (pp. 109-208), andgreen (pp. 209-312). The reader emergesfrom each essay with the feeling of havingassimilated the fullness of the color in all itsmanifestations. Those who design docu-ments can gain immeasurably by perusingthese books, as can those who read thedocuments. To do so would be a valuabletool for audience analysis.

Each essay is written brilliantly, employinga multiplicity of writing techniques fromwhich we may profit: varying sentencestructures, sprinkling occasionally difficultwords into the prose and thereby provid-ing a means of expanding our vocabularies,choosing dynamic words that almost leapfrom the page, differentiating the variousnuances of each color, narrating the historyof the color in its variations, probing theetymology of the color, explaining theprocess of how the color is made, elucidat-ing the uses of the color, and selectingengaging anecdotes and allusions thatembellish the essay—making each readingof an individual color a thorough, livelylearning experience.

What Theroux conveys in “Blue,” forexample, makes a person realize how littlehe or she knows about that color. Readingalong, one becomes informed by accretion.Did you know that deep blue beards werecommon on Greek and Roman statues?That in Greece marble was frequentlypainted with blue festoons? That bluethreads appeared in the ancient linen gar-ments found in the caves of the Dead SeaScrolls? That in Jerusalem a blue handpainted on a door gives protection? That a blue spot placed behind a groom’s ear inMorocco drives off evil? That chows have

ALEXANDER THEROUX ON COLORS,TAKEN INDIVIDUALLY

RONALD J. NELSON

A

V O L U M E 4 4 • N U M B E R 4 7


blue tongues? And do you remember thatthe dominant color in Munchkin Countryin L. Frank Baum’s world of Oz was blueand that the “solid endearing color” ofWatty Piper’s Little Engine That Couldwas blue?

The hues and variations of blue are myriad.Reflect momentarily, won’t you, over thesubtle differences between Dutch Boyazure, Pacific Pool Supplies blue, lapislazuli, Eskimo Pie blue, cue-tip chalk, theSears color Alice Blue Gown blue, “true as Coventry blue,” Tiffany blue, Windexblue, Gauloise bleu, the blue dye on thebristles of some toothbrushes, glacier-iceblue, turnsole (used by monks for won-derful pen flourishes around letters), andindigo blue, to name a few?

Blue was the color of the temperancemovement. It is the airy color of the sky. It was the color for Walter Winchell, whoalmost always wore a blue suit, a blue shirt,and a blue tie along with his gray felt hat.“Blues” was Confederate money, to con-trast it with the Northern “greenbacks.”The Aztec word Xiuhtecuhli (“the princeof the turquoise”) denoted the name ofthe solar (male) color and of the jade shirtworn by the goddess of eternal renewal.Goethe, in his Theory of Colors (1810),regarded blue as producing “anxious, tender, and yearning responses.”

Blue is the color for the discouraged—gotthe blues. (W. C. Handy’s “blue note” wasa minor third, like G to B�.) In jazz, BlueNote recordings are synonymous withexcellence.

And then there is the song, “Blue Moon,”and Miles Davis’ great album, Kind ofBlue. Appropriately, I must ask the ques-tion, as Theroux does, “What did the cowdo when he ate blue grass? Mood indigo.”

Here is how Theroux’s essay “Orange”begins:

Orange is a bold, forritsome [according to the Oxford English Dictionary, “forward,‘pushing’”] color. It sells, it smiles, it sings, it simpers, combining the aura of Hollywoodmusicals, the leisure of sunshiny Florida—Moon Over Miami in Technicolor—and SouthAmerican festivals. Orange is “hot,” gives

back light, and sits at the center of one’s ch’i(cosmic or vital energy). It is an active, warm,advancing earthy color, indicative of and supposedly preferred by social types with anagreeable, good-natured, and gregarious per-sonality, glad-handing and salesman-hearty,yammering and bumptious and irrepressible,although it carries the added connotations,predominantly in its mode of near-phospho-rescence, of fickleness, vacillation, lack ofsteadiness, and, many even insist, a lack ofwarmth. But, surely, it is nothing if not unshyand bottomlessly flippant and even pagan, acolor that takes place, in the parlance of twen-ties journalism, in full view of the spectators.

As Theroux also says, it is a color that“rides over opposition through its sheerpluck and inventive ability and radiateswith plenitude and exhilarating expendi-ture a brash and noncollaborating dynam-ic, a shouting hue that, dominating, exu-berant, everywhere superabundant, speaksout all at once.” It is “flame, fire, foolish-ness, and fun, the color of poodles, samba-maniacs, and people with zipperoo.”Orange is “sharper than shy and flashierthan frail, with nothing of diffidence ordoubt in what is announced of its high saturation, and somehow always remindsme of what Ty Cobb once said of the gameof baseball: ‘It’s no pink tea, and molly-coddles had better stay out.’”

As a bit of an interactive exercise, whatwords in the above passage make it comealive? What words do you regard as sophis-ticated? Does the alliteration work? Why orwhy not? Do the allusions to a movie andto a baseball player make the passagesmore effective? Can you see the essence of the color through concrete, dynamicimagery rather than abstractions? Can yousense how the mind is stretched by theinterweaving of techniques? Can you get a feel for the important principle that it is not just what you say that matters, buthow you say it? You can put your readers tosleep with your writing, or you can virtuallycoerce them to sit up and pay attention.

Orange you glad you read this column?

Ron Nelson is an associate professor ofEnglish, James Madison University,Harrisonburg, VA 22807; +1 540 568 3755,fax +1 540 568 2983; [email protected].

How much thought have you ever given to

blue and orange?

J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 0 08


t’s a hot topic on the stock market—portal Web sites (many of those “dotcom” companies) have made manypeople wealthy. It has almost become a

game. Netscape and Microsoft have set upportal pages in the hope that people willnot figure out how to reset their browser(i.e., Netscape Navigator, MicrosoftInternet Explorer) home page. Computermanufacturers such as Dell and Compaqhave set their preinstalled browsers so thattheir company portal appears as the defaulthome page. It’s a good bet that just abouteveryone has seen those sites. So whatexactly is a portal and why do you need one?

What Is a Portal?

“Portal” is defined by The AmericanHeritage Dictionary as “An entrance ormeans of entrance: a portal of knowledge.”That is exactly what a Web portal is—anentrance to the Web. The difference, how-ever, is that portal sites vary depending on your needs. The goal of a portal site is to become your entrance to the WorldWide Web. As with many things, there are advantages and disadvantages to portal sites.

The advantages are many; these sites allowyou to customize the information pre-sented to you so that it meets your needs.For example, CNN (http://www.cnn.com),Excite (http://www.excite.com), and Yahoo(http://www.yahoo.com) allow users to cus-tomize the first page they see. This meansthat you dictate the order and presentationof information instead of letting the Website do it.

Many users customize one of these sitesand make it their default home page, so that every time they open their Webbrowser they see the page they customizedwith the information they want. These sitesoften offer “search the Web” areas so thatyou can use their affiliated search engine to find information you want instead ofgoing somewhere else like AltaVista(http://www.altavista.com) or Google(http://www.google.com).

The main drawback, and argument againstcustomizing an existing site, is that thesesites are still able to dictate content. Usersare simply reordering the information sothat it is presented as they want to view it.John Dvorak argued in his October 1998column in PC Magazine (reprinted on the Web at http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/insites/dvorak_print/jd980922.htm) thatportal sites are truly advertiser-driven and only lead you to information from one of their partners—never one of theircompetitors.

A secondary drawback is often the narrowscope of a portal. Users of the Garden.comportal (http://www.garden.com) receive a wealth of information on gardening—but on little else. Those who use theMotley Fool portal (http://www.fool.com)receive a wealth of information oninvesting—but on little else.

Dvorak argues that users should simplycreate their own portal site—one that pre-sents all the information they want in theorder they want it. Before creating a site,however, it is good to take a look at otherportals to get a feel for what they do.

Where Do I Find Portals?

Many people are surprised to learn thatsites they visit every day are actually portals—which is the point. Sites like Excite wantyou to customize them so that you comeback every day. Because most of these larger sites are advertiser-supported, theycount on users to come back regularly. Alarge number of regular visitors translatesinto more advertising revenue for them.

Other portal sites are created by compa-nies to keep you coming back to theirproducts and those of their strategic part-ners. Netscape (http://www.netscape.com) isa good example of this. The default homepage for Navigator users is the Netscapehome page. This is a site that users cancustomize to their own needs. Netscapehas created strategic partnerships withorganizations such as CNN to providegeneral news, The Weather Channel for

A portal can present all the information

you want in the order you want it.

N E T N O T E S

WHAT EXACTLY IS A PORTAL?

IELIZABETH MOELLER

V O L U M E 4 4 • N U M B E R 4 9


A personal portal is a fast-loading

list of links.

weather information, CNET for technicalnews, and so forth.

Some portals are purely topical. A newventure, Nothing But Networks (http://www.nothingbutnetworks.com), has created a family of portals on a range of topics.These are still primarily advertiser-sup-ported but they have a definite topicalfocus. Their family includes sites on pets,music, toys, computers, and other areas—all billed as the “most popular topics onthe Internet.”

Topical sites are not always advertiser-sup-ported. LinuxLinks (http://www.linuxlinks.com) and LinuxWaves (http://www.linuxwaves.com) are excellent examples of topicalportals. They provide links to Linux infor-mation with no advertising. Other topicalsites include Doct.org (http://www.doct.org)for medical information, CNET (http://www.cnet.com) for technical information,and Internet.com (http://www.Internet.com)for Internet industry information.

The question is whether any of these por-tals work for you. If they don’t, you maywant to create your own.

How Do I Create My Own Portal?

There are two ways to create a portal foryour needs. The first, and easiest if you do not know HTML, is to use one of theexisting portal sites and customize it foryour needs. The more general ones, suchas Netscape, Excite, and Yahoo, are greatfor people who want a quick look at theheadlines, weather, and sports and a placeto enter search terms.

For people who want more detail, a topicalportal may be the answer. However, thosemay not meet all users’ needs since theystay on a focus and do not offer the rangeof topics a more general site does. As JohnDvorak suggests, many people are turningto creating their own personal portals.Dvorak’s personal portal can be found at http://www.dvorak.org/home.htm.

A personal portal is essentially a fast-load-ing list of links. It can even reside on auser’s hard drive for faster access. The diffi-culty here is that to create one of these,users must know HTML or have access toa visual HTML editor such as MicrosoftFrontPage or Macromedia Dreamweaver.

Portals bear watching this year. As moreand more people use the Web, the drivingforce is content. Users are tired of the eye-candy and flashy sites—they want informa-tion. Creating a portal is one way to bringusers to your site and provide much neededinformation for a targeted audience. Thedownside for those creating them is thatthey are time-consuming to maintain andmust be maintained 24 hours a day, sevendays a week to be current and keep userscoming back.

Elizabeth Weise Moeller is vice president ofPCS and chair of the Meetings Committee.She owns Interactive Media Consulting (+1 518 366 8765, http://[email protected]), a World Wide Web andInternet training firm in Saratoga Springs,New York, which provides Web site designand Internet training for businesses in thenortheast.

hy English presents problems in learning:

• I did not object to the object.• The insurance for the invalid was invalid.• The bandage was wound around the wound.• There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.• They were too close to the door to close it.• The buck does funny things when the does are present.• The cat with nine lives lives next door.

W

N E W S L E T T E R

J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 0 010

PCS

P R O F E S S O R G R A M M A R

n these lazy days of summer, theProfessor has been cheerfully writingthank-you notes to all those wonderfulfriends with whom she visited recently.

Speaking of notes, the Professor was sur-prised when she realized that she’s neverwritten a lesson on one of her pet peeves:general notes. (She’s not particularly bothered by notes to figures or examplesbecause those notes are really like foot-notes to those helpful devices.)

What Is a General Note?

By general notes the Professor means thoselittle facts that are preceded by a boldfaceNote label. In much of the informationthe Professor edits, those notes are asnumerous and annoying as the weedsamidst the columbines and lavender in the Professor’s garden. The problem is notso much with what comes after the peskyNote labels as with the excessive andinconsistent use of the Note label actuallymuddying the information rather than clarifying it.

Consider the following note:

• Note: You cannot delete product-generatedobjects, but you can delete objects that youcreated.

This fact seems important, but how doesthe Note label help the user? This infor-mation is really a restriction, so the userwould be helped more if the label wereRestriction.

Notes That Could Use Other Labels

Here are some other notes that would bebetter with different labels:

• Note: You can encrypt users’ passwords byusing the ENCRYPT command.

Although the Professor can’t be sure with-out seeing the context for that note, shedoubts this information needs to stand out from the information surrounding it.Putting a Note label on sentences like thisone subtly tells users that information

without a Note label is less important. Incases like this, the Professor recommendsthat you use no label.

• Note: It is recommended that you back upyour system before you migrate to a newrelease.

For important information like this, theProfessor finds a Recommendation labelfar more appealing than a Note label. Shewagers that users will agree, especially ifyou follow the Recommendation labelwith an imperative verb that tells userswhat you recommend they do. For example:

• Recommendation: Back up your systembefore you migrate to a new release.

If you recognized something else theProfessor doesn’t like about the “It is rec-ommended” note, congratulations! Youhave a discerning eye. The first word of thenote, It, is what the Professor sometimescalls an expletive. The it in that sentence isa meaningless word that takes the positionof the subject. Revising the sentence inimperative mood makes the sentence muchmore clear. To read more about expletivesin our language, see the May/June 2000issue of this Newsletter, page 19.

• Note: To use the EXTEND command, youmust have version 3 of the Database/Extendproduct installed on your system.

Again, the Professor finds this informationimportant, but she would rather see aRequirement or Prerequisite label.

• Note: To organize your Web bookmarks,use the Netscape Insert Folder function.

For time-saving ideas like this, the Profes-sor likes a Tip label.

When writing cross-references, some writ-ers like to use labels like these:

• Related reading• Related topics• See also

These labels can make information easierto find, especially in a large library, but theProfessor would not be happy to see too

Labeling informationmeaningfully helps

your users.

LABELING NOTEWORTHYINFORMATION

ICopyright IBM Corp.

1998, 2000

V O L U M E 4 4 • N U M B E R 4 11


Use an imperative verb with important

recommendations.

many of these labels on a single window orpage. If you want to use these cross-refer-encing labels, the Professor recommendsthat you and your colleagues agree onwhat type of cross-references you will label,such as information on a separate Web siteor in a different printed book. And if youare writing for the Web or an online sys-tem, use a link to take the user directly tothe referenced information.

In Summary

Labeling information more meaningfullyhelps your users and makes informationeasier to find. So make the Professor, youreditor, and your users happy by limiting

your use of general notes and using moremeaningful labels when appropriate. The Professor hopes your summer is aspleasant as hers and that your notes reflectyour true intent.Copyright 1998 by IBM Corporation. Usedwith permission. Professor Grammar is anadvisor to the IBM Santa Teresa LaboratoryEditing Council. Each month she sends a lesson to the technical writers at the Labora-tory. The Council recently authored thePrentice-Hall book Developing QualityTechnical Information: A Handbook forWriters and Editors. Many of the Professor’slessons are based on tenets described in thisHandbook.

he winners in this year’s studentwriting contest are:

First Prize: David Tack of DrexelUniversity for his paper “Design of NewInstrumentation to Detect and DiagnoseSpine Pathology”

Second Prize: James DeFuria and AmolShah of Rowan University for “TheGuardian ANJEL—Automated New JerseyEmergency Locator”

Third Prize: A tie between Suor Kim ofSwarthmore College for “The Mechanismfor Improved Ultrasound Contrast withIntermittent Imaging” and Brandon L.Rutter, also of Swarthmore College, for“Biologically Inspired Approaches to Real-World Interaction of Autonomous Agents.”

The prizes are $200, $150, and $100,

respectively, and an engraved trophy thatmoves each year to the first-place winner’sIEEE student branch.

David Tack, James DeFuria, and Suor Kimalso participated in the IEEE Region 2contest at Ohio University, Athens, Ohio,where each made an oral presentation ofhis paper. David Tack and James DeFuriawon first and second prize, respectively.

PCS congratulates the students on theirexcellent performance and the high stan-dards achieved by all the entries and thanks the contest judges: Glenn Pritchardand Barney Adler of PECO EnergyDistribution Co., Katherine Adams of Roy Weston, Inc., Roger Boyell and JohnSchanely of Lockheed Martin Corp., andEd Podell, chapter founder and formerchair, who coordinated the judging.

C H A P T E R N E W S

PHILADELPHIA WRITING CONTEST

T

PROFESSOR GRAMMAR(continued from page 10)

eaders who win the respect of others are the ones who deliver more than theypromise, not the ones who promise more than they can deliver.”

— Mark A. Clement

“L

J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 0 012


he Professional CommunicationSociety Administrative Committee(AdCom) held its summer meet-ing on 5 and 6 May 2000 at the

Holiday Inn (Metrodome) in Minneapolis,Minnesota.

Awards

Long-time PCS member Jim Lufkin was aguest in attendance at the meeting and atthe AdCom dinner, where close familymembers accompanied him. After dinner,Jim received from president George

Hayhoe the IEEE Third Millen-nium medal that he was awardedby PCS in recognition for a life-time of contributions to profes-sional communication (see page 1, this Newsletter).

The AdCom voted HenrichLantsberg winner of the Schlesingeraward and JoAnn Hackos winnerof the Goldsmith award. Theseawards will be presented atIPCC/SIGDOC 2000.

The PCS Web site http://www.ieeepcs.org has been updated toinclude the 1999 award winners as well as a new section listingwinners of best Transactionspaper awards.

President’s Report

An IEEE review of PCS is planned beforethe next TAB meeting in Vancouver,British Columbia, Canada, on 22 June.The IEEE conducts these reviews approxi-mately every five years to ensure that soci-eties are healthy and follow good practicesin conferences and publications. BillKehoe, Kim Campbell, and GeorgeHayhoe will attend the review.

Membership, finances, publications, andfuture plans are usually discussed at thesereviews and the outcome is a series of rec-ommendations. The publications review

includes mailing on time, meeting pagecount, rigor of peer review, and acceptancerate for papers submitted. PCS is in goodposition for the review. We expect favor-able comments about the joint issue of theTransactions on Professional Communica-tion with the STC Technical Communi-cation. The recommendations from thereview will be blended with the strategicplan of PCS.

Treasurer’s Report

The budget for fiscal year 2000 is based on a membership of 1801, which is theactual number as of the end of March. PCS could end up with a $22k surplusbased on this budget.

The proposed new financial model forIEEE has not been approved by TAB. Thismodel seeks equitable distribution of thecost of running IEEE. Currently, IEEEdoes not have enough money for infra-structure, membership, corporate activi-ties, business administration, and humanresources. Because society surpluses techni-cally belong to IEEE, if a new model is notapproved at the TAB meeting in June, the society surpluses could end up beingtransferred to IEEE. It is not clear how the new model would affect PCS.

Conferences

Activities for IPCC/SIGDOC 2000 are on schedule and corporate sponsors havecommitted $9000 for sponsorships includ-ing the bags, the banquet, and coffeebreaks. The Transactions may sponsoranother event. The program committeereceived 110 proposals for papers and pan-els, of which 62 were accepted. A full slateof tutorials is scheduled for Sunday, 24September, the first day of the conference.Conference information is available onlineat http://www.ieeepcs.org/2000/.

Activities for IPCC 2001 are also on schedule. This is the last year planned for

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MAYADCOM MEETINGBY ED CLARK

T

President George Hayhoeleading strategic

plan discussion


V O L U M E 4 4 • N U M B E R 4 13

collaboration with SIGDOC and only onejoint speaker, Moira Gunn, is scheduled.The treasurer sent a budget to Joe Chewbased on registration of 130, of which 30would be from SIGDOC. IPCC 2001 willbe held 24-26 October 2001 in Santa Fe,New Mexico, at the La Fonda Hotel onthe Plaza; a contract with the La Fonda(site of IPCC 92) has been signed.

Other conferences are in the early planningstages. The chair for IPCC 2002, Laurel

Grove, has been exploring venueoptions in the Portland, Oregon,area. Bernadette Longo has agreedto be program chair of IPCC 2004.

Publications

PCS is negotiating with the IEEEPress to sponsor publication for theU.S. market of the third edition ofWriting Reports to Get Results byRon Blicq and Lisa Moretto. OtherPCS-related books are in process.One of those, the recently publishedEssence of Technical Communicationfor Engineers by Herbert Hirsch, isbeing promoted at the IEEE onlinestore at http://www.shop.ieee.org/store.

A heuristic evaluation by three indepen-dent experts was conducted on the newdesign of the Transactions. The evaluatorsconsidered the new design far superior to the old but still needing improvement.

Publicity and Marketing

The Publicity and Marketing Committeecontinued working toward increasing PCSvisibility and name recognition. To thatend, P&MC sponsored the TECHWR-L list,placed an ad in the Society for TechnicalCommunication annual meeting program,arranged booth coverage and supportingmaterials for that and another technicalcommunication conference, and updatedthe PCS Web site. Visits to the site con-tinue to increase, especially during PCSsponsorship of the TECHWR-L list.

Publicity and Marketing’s immediate goalis to create an identifiable brand for PCS.An online membership application is beingdeveloped and the committee is solicitingbids for the design of a PCS logo.

The second day of the meeting was devotedto the strategic plan, and work will con-tinue between meetings, with conclusionsdisseminated as soon as possible.

Luke

Mak

i

Below: Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum at the Univ. of Minnesota.

Property of the Univ. of Minnesota; ©1993.

Below: Paying attention: Tom van Loon,

Ron Blicq, Bill Kehoe

Above: PCS secretary Ed Clarkhard at work

J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 0 014


his column is the third to offer a tale describing real audienceengagements. I decided on the useof tales because I wanted to find

new and effective ways to reach audiences.A lot of generic guidance on reachingaudiences is available, but almost nospecifics. In the first tale I was the writerand I described a successful audienceengagement. For the second tale I com-pared published audience analyses forBrill’s Content and The Blair Witch Project.

Working through those two tales has givenme a much clearer vision of which audi-ences I want to reach and which tech-niques can work for me. At this point inmy writing life I am most interested inmore creative works—those that, in PeterElbow’s model (Writing With Power,1981), require initial distance from theaudience to allow innovation and creativity.And I am fascinated with adapting thetechniques of the Web and film. For thisthird tale my reaction to a British film ledme to ponder whether others had the samereaction to it, and how I could adapt someof its techniques.

Illustrative Tale 3Last Christmas, a particular scene drew mealmost hypnotically to the film Peter’s Friends.Why, I wondered, was the scene so entranc-ing to me? I certainly hadn’t analyzed it at thetime—just enjoyed it.

During a holiday gathering at his castle,Peter’s friends sing “The Way You LookTonight.” The formerly tight-knit group hasn’tbeen together in a long time, and as normallyhappens in such reunion movies, conflictsand misunderstandings have threatened topull them apart. At first, there are only twosingers (who happen to play singer/songwrit-ers in the movie) around the piano. Gradually,the other friends join in. At the end of thesong, Peter makes a gesture of tying a bow.The song is over, the friends have bondedagain, and everyone has received aChristmas gift, including the audience.

The package metaphor communicated moredeeply and effectively to me than any wordsproclaiming love and friendship could have. I wondered whether the film had the same

impact on other people, or if perhaps I was a sentimental fool. Below I’ve listed some ofthe audience comments I found.

From a film review Web site, http://us.imdb.com/boards/wwwthreads.pl?action=list&Board=b0105130:

“It makes me laugh. It makes me embar-rassed. It evokes so many feelings that arepivotal for the human spirit, so many thingsthat are universal. If you have friends, or ifyou’ve lost them, or if you’ve met any peopleat all in your life, you will be able to relate tothe six friends in Peter’s Friends. What theheck, you only have to be human to relate to it.”

From amazon.com, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/video-customer-reviews/6302767741/Internetmoviedat/103-1682287-0823032:

“A great movie to watch when you’re feelingcynical about friendships. Funny and touch-ing, this movie will lift you up while dealingwith serious issues.”

“In my opinion, if you watch this film, you canbecome a bit of a better person. I, certainly,re-thought some of my relationships afterwatching it.”

“You could go to any stately home in Britaintoday and find an identical assortment offriends behaving in exactly the same way. As we are fond of saying in England, it was‘spot on’—wonderfully funny, poignant, yetexcruciatingly sad at the end.”

Yes, there were some negative comments:sentimental, familiar plot, and so on. But I focus on those people who had reactionssimilar to mine. The film did manage tostrike a deep chord—to be true to life, andstir the audience to action—a call to thinkabout our own friendships, “to become abetter person.” Pretty good measures ofsuccessful audience outreach.

Films and the Web are filled with imagesand metaphors that are well crafted tocommunicate directly and with a sense ofdrama. Too often I find that my first draftsare based on abstract ideas and use a smallgroup of boring phrases over and over,words and phrases that I always use withthe same audiences. Communicating by

Films and the Web arefilled with images

and metaphors that are well crafted to

communicate directlyand with a sense

of drama.

TA U D I E N C E Q U E S T

GIFTS FOR THE AUDIENCE

VICKI HILL



V O L U M E 4 4 • N U M B E R 4 15

W O R K I N G F R E E L A N C E

ast time, after we talked about the cat who walked by himself, wetalked about freelancers working as individuals, either as temporary

employees or as sole proprietors. Oneproblem that individuals may face is thereluctance of some corporations to con-tract with them for services. These cor-porations feel safer in relationships withother corporations.

Since corporations usually make up thelargest part of a freelance technical writer’sclientele, some freelancers have formedcorporations of their own to address those concerns.

There are other reasons that a freelancermight form a corporation: A corporationcan offer tax advantages and can protectpersonal assets from business liabilities such as law suits and bankruptcies. Havinga corporate name can lend additional credibility to the freelancer when negotiat-ing with clients or seeking financing.

Jean-luc Doumont says, “Owning a com-pany offers few financial advantages (tax or otherwise) compared to working undermy own name […], but it increases credi-bility, provides an official business name(JL Consulting), and facilitates growth(through hiring or selling shares to a new partner).”

And, of course, there can be disadvantagesto forming a corporation. Instead of tax sav-ings, a corporation may result in increasedtax expenses. There are costs associatedwith forming a corporation and the cor-poration has increased record-keepingrequirements, also with associated costs.

In the United States, a freelancer’s corpo-ration is likely to take one of three struc-tures, each with its own set of advantagesand disadvantages. The corporate types arestandard, subchapter S, and limited liability.Each type is a legal entity separate from the freelancer. Each offers protection topersonal assets from business debts. Eachmust pay unemployment tax and SocialSecurity tax on behalf of its employees.Depending on the location, there may be

a franchise tax as well. A corporation mustfile quarterly reports and an annual federalincome tax return, hold annual meetings of the directors, and keep certain corporaterecords. The main differences among thetypes of corporation are related to howthey are taxed.

A standard corporation is a separate entity for tax purposes. The freelancer is an employee of the corporation and mustpay income and Social Security taxes on his or her salary. The corporation also pays Social Security and other taxes on thesalary. The corporation then pays tax onremaining profits using the corporate rate,which is frequently lower than the free-lancer’s individual rate.

A standard corporation can distribute profits to the shareholders (the freelancerand any others who have invested in thecorporation) as dividends. The sharehold-ers must then pay income tax on the dividends, so this money is taxed twice—once as corporate profit, once as individualincome. Alternatively, a corporation canaccumulate its earnings for reasonableneeds of the business. In this case, themoney is taxed only once, but it belongs to the corporation and is not available to the freelancer for personal use.

Further, the IRS limits how much a cor-poration can accumulate and requires thatamounts in excess of the reasonable needsbe distributed to the shareholders as divi-dends. A rule of thumb for maximumretained earnings for corporations thatprovide consulting services is $150 000. If the corporation accumulates more thanan appropriate amount, the IRS can levy a penalty of up to 39.6 percent.

All income tax liabilities on profits from a subchapter S corporation are passedthrough to the shareholders. The corpora-tion itself pays no income tax, so there isno possibility of double taxation. Again,the freelancer is an employee and must paySocial Security tax on the salary earnedfrom the corporation. Other income fromthe corporation is subject to income taxbut not Social Security tax.

CORPORATE STEPS

Whatever the type of corporation, there will

be more paperwork.

JULIA LAND

L

J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 0 016


Tax agencies may decidewhether a freelancer isreally independent or

should be considered anemployee of the client.

The IRS is sensitive to reasonable salaries,though, and can assess penalties if the free-lancer’s salary is unreasonably low to avoidpaying Social Security tax. There are regu-lations limiting the number of shareholders(currently 75) and limiting certain types of passive income. All income tax liabilitiesmust be distributed based on ownershippercentages, independent of whether theincome is distributed that way.

A limited liability corporation (LLC) can be treated either as a corporation or asa partnership for tax purposes. If the LLCis treated as a partnership, the LLC itselfpays no income tax and the partners payincome taxes based on their individual taxrates. Profits and losses can be allocatedamong the partners differently than theiractual ownership percentages. Using anLLC avoids the limitations on the numberof partners and types of income that applyto subchapter S corporations.

Whatever the type of corporation, however,there will be more paperwork. KevinPorter reports, “After I set up my S-Corp I was really surprised by the extra paper-work and forms required. I had to formal-ize a lot of things I hadn’t been payingmuch attention to and paid many penaltiesbefore I finally got it figured out. I now sit down with my accountant every monthto make sure every form gets filled outproperly and nothing is forgotten.”

Since corporations are legal entities sepa-rate from the freelancers who own them,there can be opportunities to pass non-salary income from the corporation to thefreelancer. For example, one freelancerreceives rent from her corporation for the office located in her house. She mustpay income tax on this rental income, ofcourse, but not Social Security tax.

Freelancers in other countries face simi-lar choices regarding incorporation. InNorway, for example, there are two typesof businesses: the personal proprietorshipand the stock company. The personal pro-prietorship is similar to the U.S. sole pro-prietorship. The freelancer is personallyresponsible for the business, includingbusiness debts, and the profits from the

business are considered the freelancer’spersonal income.The stock company is similar to the U.S.standard corporation. The company is aseparate entity and the freelancer is notpersonally responsible for the businessdebts. Important differences are that thereis a minimum value on the shares for thecompany (currently NOK 100 000, aboutU.S. $12 500) and the freelancer and hisor her spouse can own no more than two-thirds of the shares.In Belgium, a standard incorporated com-pany requires at least two owners, but oneof the two may have only a symbolic per-centage.As mentioned in my previous column,changes to how the Canada Customs andRevenue Agency handles taxes and benefitsof freelancers working through agencies,coupled with increasing client reluctanceto contract directly with sole proprietors,are causing increasing numbers of sole proprietors to consider incorporation. A similar pattern occurred in the UnitedKingdom some time ago and now mostfreelancers are incorporated. However, on6 April, a new law went into effect limitingthe business deductions that many incor-porated freelancers can take to five percentof their gross income.The U.K. Inland Revenue (the equivalentof the U.S. IRS) determines whether thefreelancer is employed or self-employed.Self-employed freelancers can continue todeduct their business expenses. Employedfreelancers can deduct a maximum of fivepercent of their gross income as businessexpenses. The factors that the InlandRevenue uses to make this determinationare very similar to the factors the IRS usesto decide whether a freelancer is reallyindependent or should be considered anemployee of the client. Both agencies con-sider whether the freelancer has multipleclients, how much day-to-day control theclient has over the freelancer, and howmuch financial risk the freelancer is taking.A decision to incorporate can have manyramifications. Anyone who is consideringforming a corporation should consult carefully with tax and legal experts.


T O O L S O F T H E T R A D E


V O L U M E 4 4 • N U M B E R 4 17

art 3: The Art of Tolerance

One of the greatest challenges aheadwill be to turn the tide of intolerance

that is sweeping the globe. Unless we suc-ceed in doing this, all the bright promisesof technology and worldwide communi-cation will come to nothing.

The Flip Side of Self-determination

Globalization has become an unstoppableforce with many great benefits. Commerceis creating interdependencies that encour-age peace. Communication is becomingever easier, faster, and cheaper. And inter-national support for democratization andself-determination has made it more diffi-cult for repressive regimes to survive.

Isn’t tolerance an inevitable consequenceof this trend toward one free world?Apparently not. Instead, “self-determina-tion” often seems to mean “the right notto have to put up with any differences”—even if that means attacking or killingthose who differ.

The problem is most visible on the nationallevel, where civil wars and the emergenceof miniature nations claim our attention.But in large and small groups all aroundus, we can see the same phenomenon: pro-life extremists having no difficulty takingthe life of abortion-clinic doctors; racistgroups committing hate crimes; and envi-ronmentalists burning down a Vail skilodge to fight developers. In all such cases,groups, or extreme members of groups,assume the absolute right to impose theirwill, even if they are a minority.

Where Does It Start?

The scourge of intolerance has its roots ingroups, which often define themselves inopposition to other groups. Two thingsusually happen: One, there is no dialoguewith any opposing group, but only publiccommunication directed against the othergroups; two, other groups are vilified tothe point that they lose essential human

traits. For instance, animal rights activistsare not likely to talk to hunting groups,and because of their abhorrence of hunt-ing, they will tend to see hunters as defi-cient in the gentler human emotions.

And How Can We Stop It?

Since groups are the intrinsic source of theproblem, one might think they are also thesolution. But that doesn’t seem so. Rather,groups have to be influenced internally—by individuals—to develop tolerance. In other words, each of us holds the keyand is responsible. Specifically, here aresome things we can do to stop the cycle of intolerance:

1. Be aware of your true level of toler-ance. Just think about your strongestconvictions and their source. Are you aDemocrat (or Republican) just like yourparents? How much of your own think-ing went into that conviction? And doyou honestly see the other side as fullyhuman?

2. Listen without fear. As the psycholo-gist Carl Rogers recognized, we oftendo not listen because we are afraid, deepdown, that we might change our essen-tial beliefs if we do. This is especiallytrue when the convictions at stake arenot thought through but just inheritedfrom a group, family, or other authority.Try to set aside that fear and just listen,without response. You don’t have togive up your beliefs, even if the otherside sounds as if it has a point. But youwill begin to see “opponents” as full-fledged humans, which is the seed oftolerance.

3. When a common higher principle isinvolved, leap over group obstacleswithout hesitation. For example, when Turkey recently suffered from catastrophic earthquakes, Greece senthelpers. The sight of Greek and Turkishrescue workers fighting side by side tosave Turkish lives did more than any

Groups are the source ofintolerance—but you

and I can reverse it.

COMMUNICATION IN THENEW MILLENNIUM

PPETER REIMOLD AND

CHERYL REIMOLD


J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 0 018

WORKING FREELANCE(continued from page 16)

diplomacy over decades to dismantle the hatred between the two nations. It’sthe same with any other group: Seeingthem in an act of caring reveals them in their true light, as people rather thanmembers of a despised group.

4. Influence your groups to make toler-ance an official principle. Let your col-leagues and group leaders know thatyou think it important to respect oppo-nent groups and have a true dialoguewith them. Just consider the oppositiongenetically altered foods are facing inEurope. If U.S. groups interested ingenetic-engineering research had fol-lowed a policy of respect and listenedcarefully to opponents, might they notat least have chosen a path of lesser resis-

tance—say, one starting with medical andother accepted applications?

As that example suggests, you can’t always“win” by practicing tolerance. But you canavoid a lot of trouble by acting realistically—and you’ll be a member of a very exclu-sive group of enlightened world citizens!

Cheryl and Peter Reimold have taught communication skills to engineers, scientists,and businesspeople for 18 years. Their firm,PERC Communications (telephone +1 914725 1024, e-mail [email protected]), offersbusinesses customized in-house courses onwriting, presentation skills, and on-the-jobcommunication skills. Visit their new educa-tional web site at http://www.allaboutcomunication.com.

Me? I’m quite happy as a sole proprietor.

As before, several other freelancers havehelped by telling how they deal with theissues in their city or country. Many thanksto Jane Aronovitch, Ian Blythe, MichaelBrady, Jean-luc Doumont, Carrie Estill,Nigel Greenwood, Mick Harney, KathyKing, Ruben Oren, Kevin Porter, HilaryPowers, Kim Shaw, and Tom Van Loon.Among us we have lived and worked

in Austria, Belgium, Canada, France,Germany, Israel, Malaysia, the Netherlands,Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom,and the United States.

The author has been a freelance technicalwriter for seven years and a member of PCSfor five. She lives and works in Houston,Texas. She would especially like to hear fromfreelancers working in Asia or along thePacific Rim. E-mail: [email protected].

images and metaphors takes more time andthought, and especially takes that distancethat Elbow talks about. Some courses increative writing may be helpful. The payoffis that the likelihood of influencing youraudience, and stirring them to action, isgreatly increased.

Vicki Hill ([email protected]) is a consultantin the areas of business process improvement,software life-cycle processes, and telecommu-nications applications. Special interestsinclude the presentation of complex technicalinformation, the magazine scene, biogra-phies, films, and Web surfing.

AUDIENCE QUEST(continued from page 14)

nfinite patience brings immediate results.”— Wayne Dyer

“I


V O L U M E 4 4 • N U M B E R 4 19

G O O D I N T E N T , P O O R O U T C O M E

Simplicity should refer to how easily the

audience can access theinformation, under-

stand the messages, or perform the actions.

ur life is frittered away by detail,” Thoreau said,“Simplify, simplify.” Thosewise words apply beautifully

to professional communication, yet mayoften be misunderstood in this context.What, specifically, should we simplify andwhy, after all, should we simplify it?

The scientists and engineers I talk to oftenobject to simplifying their documents. “Mysubject is complex,” they argue; “if I makeit simple, I don’t do it justice.” Clearly,they believe that the only way to simplify a document is by truncating contents orerasing nuances. Yet a complicated expres-sion can often be replaced by a simpler one without loss of information, the sameway the heavy fraction 679/194 can bereplaced by the lighter 7/2 without loss.Excellence in communication may well beexpressing complex ideas in simple ways.

Simplicity, however, may be but a facade.Almost 15 years ago, I bought my firstanswering machine, boasting a simplified“one-touch operation.” And indeed, therewas only one large black button to be seenon the machine: how simple! Of course,the “one touch” on this button wouldalways produce the same “one action”:Rewind the tape and play the messages. To obtain any other action, such as fast-forwarding or saving messages, one had to press and hold the button in complex,unintuitive sequences. This “simplifica-tion” makes as much sense as replacing acomputer keyboard by a single Morse key.

As far as communication goes, simplicityshould refer to how easily the audience canaccess the information, understand themessage, or perform the desired action. Inother words, it has little to do with appear-ance and certainly nothing to do with care-lessness or shortcuts on the part of thewriter, speaker, or graphic designer. On thecontrary, it often requires additional care,including attention to the details—a mostunrewarding effort, for the details are pre-cisely designed not to call attention tothemselves.

Punctuation is a typical example of detailmeant to simplify the reader’s task, butoften given little attention by writers whoprefer to simplify their own task, for exam-ple by not bothering about some punctua-tion signs. Commas may come to mind,but missing hyphens are another frequentsource of misreadings in English.

Last year in Victoria, British Columbia, my attention was caught by a sign that said“Free Spirit Soap.” I was about to requestmy own bar of free soap, when I realizedthat the adjective free qualified spirit andnot soap. The sign really advertised free-spirit soap…for sale!

Hyphens used to clarify premodifiers areadmittedly a complex issue, for at leastthree reasons. First, they are a matter ofsyntax and not of spelling, so dictionariesdo not help. Second, they can in someinstances be long debated. In the expres-sion “nuclear(-)fuel rod,” for example,does nuclear qualify fuel only or fuel rod asa whole? Third, they pose the problem ofrecursion. Anyone who ever programmedmath on a computer somehow feels that aguide for students of high-energy physicsought to be written as “a ((high-energy)-physics)-student guide.”

The actual need for or usefulness ofhyphens is, of course, largely a matter offamiliarity with the phrase. Authors there-fore may not see how their phrase could bemisunderstood, yet readers may get misled,even if temporarily. I remember a researchreport that occasioned much hilarity byreferring, without the proper hyphenation,to “blown film producers.” Even chemicalengineers familiar with the production ofblown film couldn’t help but think of peo-ple from the cinematographic industry.

Dr. Jean-luc Doumont teaches and providesadvice on professional speaking, writing,and graphing. Over the last 15 years, he hashelped audiences of all ages, backgrounds,and nationalities structure their thoughtsand construct their communication(http://www.JLConsulting.be).

SIMPLIFY, SIMPLIFY?

“OJEAN-LUC DOUMONT

J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 0 020


Reprint permission prohibits Web posting.

C-A-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-TBY STEVE MIRSKY


V O L U M E 4 4 • N U M B E R 4 21

R e g i s t r a t i o n F o r m

24-27 September 2000 • Cambridge, Massachusetts, USAEasy, secured, online registration is available on our website at http://www.ieeepcs.org/2000

PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY

Name: ________________________________________________________________________________________

Preferred name on badge: ________________________________________________________________________

Affiliation: ______________________________________________________________________________________

Street Address: ________________________________________________________________________________

City/State/Zip/Country: __________________________________________________________________________

Telephone: ____________________________________________________________________________________

E-mail: ________________________________________________________________________________________

ACM SIGDOC Member #: ________________________________________________________________________

IEEE PCS Member #: ____________________________________________________________________________

PLEASE CIRCLE APPROPRIATE REGISTRATION FEE(S):

Prior to 6 August 2000 After 6 August 2000

Member Non- Student/ TOTAL Member Non- Student/ TOTALMember Retiree Member Retiree

Full Conference $400 $475 $150 $______ $475 $550 $425 $______Single Day* $175 $225 $ 50 $______ $200 $250 $ 50 $______Tutorial Half Day** $150 $200 $150 $______ $175 $225 $175 $______Tutorial Full Day** $225 $300 $225 $______ $275 $325 $275 $______

*Single Day Registrants – indicate which day you will attend:___ 25 September ___ 26 September ___ 27 September

**Tutorial Attendees – indicate which tutorial you will attend:___ Plain Language and the Document Revolution (full day)___ Introduction to XML, DTD Design, and XSL (full day)___ How Virtual Objects Facilitate Team Work Across the Disciplines (full day)___ What You Need to Know About Law in Cyberspace (full day)___ Conducting Mail, Telephone, and WWW Surveys (half day)___ Building Information Models for Single Sourcing (half day)___ Designing Web-based Training: Combining Usability Issues and Learning Theory (half day)___ Mining for Information: Tactics for Interviewing (half day)___ Teamwork and Technology: Designing, Developing, and Delivering Effective Distance-education Classes (half day)

Full conference registration includes access to all sessions and one copy of the proceedings. Also includes a $25 credit towards IEEE PCS membership or full ACM SIGDOC membership. Membership forms available at registration desk during the conference.

Conference

J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 0 022


ADDITIONS:Price Number TOTAL

Awards celebration at the Museum of Science $60 ______ $________25 September – Guests and families welcome

Awards Celebration – children 12 and under $25 ______ $________Extra proceedings $40 Member ______ $________

$50 Nonmember ______ $________

Total Remittance (must be in U.S. dollars) $__________

SPECIAL INFORMATION:

___ I am a full time student (include copy of valid student I.D.)___ I am willing to be a session moderator___ Do not include me in the conference attendee listing___ I have special needs or meal requirements as follows:

METHOD OF PAYMENT:

Charge my: ___ Visa ___ Mastercard ___ Diners Club ___ American Express

Name on card: ________________________________________________________________________________

Expiration date: ________________________________________________________________________________

Card number: __________________________________________________________________________________

Signature: ____________________________________________________________________________________

___ Check enclosed (payable to IPCC/SIGDOC 2000)___ Wire transfer (contact registrar below for more information)

CANCELLATION POLICY: No refunds will be made after 15 September 2000. All requests for refunds must be in writing. Refunds will be processed after the conference. There will be a $50 servicecharge on all refunds.

MAIL COMPLETED REGISTRATION FORM AND FEES TO:

IPCC/SIGDOC 2000c/o Beth Payer, Registrar15 Jumel PlaceSaratoga Springs, NY 12866 USA

Or fax to: +1 518 580 1352

___ I can not attend IPCC/SIGDOC 2000 but would like to order the proceedings. Please send ___ copies at $40 ($50 for nonmembers) plus $_____ shipping, for a total of $_________.Shipping fees are $5 per copy inside the U.S. and Canada or $15 outside the U.S. and Canada. Orders must be postmarked by 1 September 2000. Copies will be shipped by 30 September 2000. Send your request and payment to the registrar at above address.

Questions about IPCC/SIGDOC 2000 may be directed via e-mail to: [email protected] by phone to +1 518 587 5107.

R e g i s t r a t i o n F o r m


V O L U M E 4 4 • N U M B E R 4 23

A HINT OF THE PROGRAM ATIPCC/SIGDOC 2000

he program for IPCC/SIGDOC2000 is shaping up and you canview each day’s tutorial and paneltopics on the conference site at

http://www.ieeepcs.org/2000/. Plan now toattend the sessions that will give you theup-to-date information you need on yourjob. And be sure to leave some time forfun and exploration at the awards celebra-tion at the Boston Museum of Science on Monday evening, 25 September.

This conference includes five full-day andfour half-day tutorials on Sunday, 24September, covering a wide range of topicsfrom XML to distance education to law in cyberspace. The program includes 30panels on teamwork and technical, educa-tional, and related topics. These panelsbegin on Monday, 25 September, and conclude by early afternoon the followingWednesday.

As much as possible, the program commit-tee scheduled panel sessions to include arange of topic categories. This will enableparticipants who are interested in technicaltopics, for example, to attend discussionsin this category in each of the nine panelsessions.

SIGDOC Rigo Award winner Barbara Mirel,senior manager at Lucent Technologies,and Edward Barrett, representing Diana

Award winnerMIT Press,will speak atplenary ses-sions in themorning andafternoon ofthe first day of

the conference. The Rigo Award celebratesan individual’s lifetime contribution to the field of information design, technicalcommunication, and online informationdesign. The Diana Award celebrates thecontribution of an organization, institu-tion, or business to the field of informationdesign, technical communication, and

online information design. You can findmore information about these plenary sessions on the conference Web site.

On Tuesday, keynote speaker NicholasNegroponte will be featured at a late-morning session. Professor Negroponte isthe director and co-founder of the MITMedia Lab and author of the 1995 bestseller Being Digital. The focus of theMedia Lab is “how bits meet atoms: how electronic information overlaps with the everyday physical world.” You can find more information on ProfessorNegroponte at http://www.media.mit.edu/~nicholas/.

After you have filled your head with tutor-ial information, insights from the plenaryspeakers, and some current thinking ofpanelists, prepare yourself for fun at theawards celebration Monday evening. Thisevent at the Boston Museum of Sciencewill recognize this year’s award recipients,offer a sumptuous buffet dinner, andengage everyone in hands-on opportuni-ties to learn about science through playfulexhibits in the Blue Wing of the museum.

There you can create your own virtual fishin a 1700-square-foot electronic underseaenvironment and interact with the other3D fish. (Watch out for those hungry bigones!) You can find out about physics byplaying in the Science in the Park exhibitor see the world’s largest air-insulated Van de Graaff generator in the Theater of Electricity. For dinosaur aficionados, A T. rex named Sue will be in residence at the museum during our visit (seehttp://www.fmnh.org/sue/default.htm). For more information on the Museum of Science, see http://www.mos.org.

With all those fun and educational attrac-tions, you might want to bring the familyto this IPCC/SIGDOC conference. Chil-dren will be welcome at the awards cele-bration and there will be plenty for themto do in the museum while we recognizethis year’s award recipients.

T

Conference co-chairElizabeth Weise Moeller

Luke

Mak

i

I E E E

PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION SOCIETYN E W S L E T T E R

PCS

N E W S L E T T E R

J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 0 024

PCS

Send Form 3579 to: IEEE, 3 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016

®

ike a necklace lying northeast ofMoscow, the Golden Ring com-prises nine (sometimes said to be11) ancient Russian towns with

12th-to-17th century architecture; one of these is Suzdal, about 200 km fromMoscow. Art and architecture from theearly years survive. Set a Web search engineto work on “Suzdal” and you’ll find awealth of fascinating material.

Suzdal is to be the site of our technicalcommunication colloquium with theProfessional Communication Section ofthe Russian A. S. Popov Society. The pro-gram dates are 6-7 June 2001, with local

travel before and after. This meeting will mark the 10th

anniversary of our first such collaboration.Topics will include (but are not limited to) problems, services, and technology of professional communication; Internetservices and technologies; and inter-societycooperation.

Deadlines and requirements for abstracts,papers, reservations, and registration willbe forthcoming, probably in the Septem-ber/October Newsletter and on our Web site, http://www.ieeepcs.org/Suzdal/.The IEEE Transactions on ProfessionalCommunication is likely to publish theproceedings.

In addition to its ancient history, Suzdalhas modern conference and tourist facili-ties. The daily rate for us at Suzdal will be about U.S. $30, with private bath.Moscow hotels before and after the collo-quium will cost about U.S. $100 per day.

If you are interested—that is, if there’s at least a 50-50 chance you’ll go; no com-mitment yet—send an e-mail message [email protected] and we’ll include you on adistribution list for further information asit develops. An early indication of interestwill help drive the planning forward.

THE GOLDEN RING OF RUSSIA

Suzdal monasteries

(Cou

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