After all that effort to force people to use different characters in passwords, software simultaneously restricts the characters they can use!

Passwords and humanism

Anyone with an active Web life has a lot of online accounts. I have over 100! Most are trivial, but some involve credit-card information, and a few are critical in my life. Keeping track of them has gradually become an issue, and the potential damage of getting hacked grows. For the new year, when I log in to an online account, I am strengthening my passwords. I want to follow a system that I can remember without having to write anything down. But I think it’s impossible, because the people who create sites operate independently and because software is anti-humanistic, at least in the view of this human writer. I will explain, while attempting not to reveal my secrets.

Read More →

February 4, 2012 – 2:15 pm | By stevefjong | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Production: It still matters

The last thing we do on a project is production, whether it be making sure that the electronic version is ready for distribution (golden master) or working with a printer on page proofs (golden oldie). Today, as one-stop information producers, we usually do the production ourselves, and we’re usually anxious to skip a formal production …

Read More →

January 22, 2012 – 12:00 pm | By stevefjong | Posted in Tech writing | Comments (0)

A kerfuffle

Last week, a post on the venerable Technical Writer’s List (TECHWR-L) email discussion group asked about STC certification. As a TECHWR-L veteran and head of the Certification Commission, I was waiting for the opening, and I responded and said I would answer questions. Some 150 replies later, the owners, Connie Giordano and Al Martine, noticed …

Read More →

October 25, 2011 – 6:42 pm | By stevefjong | Posted in Certification | Comments (0)

Sharpening the saw

I joined Digital Equipment Corporation at the peak of its success. As the company’s fortunes declined, employees got nervous about their future. Since I had outside experience, I was asked for résumé critiques by some highly proficient technical writers who faced the prospect of going elsewhere after spending ten, fifteen, twenty years—or even longer!—in one …

Read More →

October 15, 2011 – 5:56 pm | By stevefjong | Posted in Certification, Tech writing | Comments Off

Are the rules of good art the same as the rules of good writing?

I’m a lousy artist, but I know a good illustration when I see one. For example, take this illustration, which appears on page 50 of Hat in the Ring, by Bert Frandsen (2003: Smithsonian Books). The drawing is by Charles Frandsen Architects, PC. Though I have no idea who actually drew it or what (if …

Read More →

September 26, 2011 – 9:47 pm | By stevefjong | Posted in Tech writing | Comments (0)