http://tc.eserver.org/authors/Farbey,_David A bibliography of works by Farbey, David in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Farbey,_David http://tc.eserver.org/34628.html http://tc.eserver.org/34628.html Recently, I have begun to feel that there is not much value left in STC as it stands today, and it is in need of a radical overhaul in order to survive. I believe that outside the rarefied atmosphere of the STC Board and Head Office, this view is widely shared. http://tc.eserver.org/33712.html http://tc.eserver.org/33712.html Surveys have always been a great way to gauge users' opinions and reactions toward new and existing products and services. With SurveyMonkey, an online survey software program, creating a survey has become a quick and easy way to create useful surveys for a multitude of needs. In this reprint of David Farbey's article, originally published in the January 2006 edition of Forward, the newsletter of the UK Chapter, Farbey gives a step-by-step guide on creating a survey with SurveyMonkey. http://tc.eserver.org/33683.html http://tc.eserver.org/33683.html As an independent consultant working mainly with small businesses I find that my clients are reluctant to commit to DITA for a number of reasons. As DITA authoring tools become more user-friendly and more readily available some of these barriers will begin to fade. But in general terms, the more DITA tools that become available, and the easier they become to use, the better for everyone. http://tc.eserver.org/31852.html http://tc.eserver.org/31852.html There is an aspect of leadership that’s just as important as knowing how to resolve conflicts. That is knowing when and how to listen. If we are leading a chapter or a SIG or a Society-level committee and one of our members raises an issue, we need to listen very carefully to what they have to say. http://tc.eserver.org/23222.html http://tc.eserver.org/23222.html What does a technical writer do? A technical writer prepares information that helps users. http://tc.eserver.org/18592.html http://tc.eserver.org/18592.html I decided to present an Idea Market session on the role of the technical communicator in a startup company because that was exactly the role I had recently taken on. In my previous experience as a technical writer I had worked in established companies as part of a team of writers. The questions that I brought to the Idea Market were the questions that I had had to face. This paper summarises the discussion that took place during my Idea Market session at Forum 2000, but begins with a brief report of the informal survey I conducted as part of my research before the conference. http://tc.eserver.org/18591.html http://tc.eserver.org/18591.html As part of my research for a presentation at the Forum 2000 Conference in June 2000, I conducted a survey of writers at small and startup software companies. The subject of the survey is the writer's perception of his or her role at a small or startup company. The survey also collected a small amount of factual data about the writer's place of work. I announced my survey on a number of technical writing mailing lists, probably reaching an audience of some 5,000 subscribers. Over 100 writers asked for the questionnaire, and 78 writers submitted replies. http://tc.eserver.org/18590.html http://tc.eserver.org/18590.html A brief handout about what a technical writer does, prepared for a school careers fair.