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[โ€“] 64 points 2 years ago (4 children)

It's also why the humanities are important. Stemlords who brag about not doing literature classes write terrible documentation.

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  • [โ€“] 33 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    My CS major required me to take two upper division English classes and I think they helped me more in my career than my upper division CS classes. People forget that documentation is for ourselves too

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  • [โ€“] 13 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I'm really thankful that I had a great English teacher in high school, and that my degree required a technical writing class. Being able to write a coherent email got me further in my career than the technical stuff I learned in college.

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  • [โ€“] 13 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    I think this is why the "my code documents itself" attitude appeals, even though it's almost never enough. Most developers just can't write, nor do they want to.

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  • [โ€“] 3 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Maybe, just maybe, people have different strengths and weaknesses and cooperating around our differences is what makes us succeed.

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  • [โ€“] 15 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    If you know your weakness is writing documentation, please hire a technical writer.

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  • [โ€“] 12 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    That's exactly what I'm saying, sorry if it came across somehow askew.

    My point was there is no point in competing over whose job is "better", we should be working together.

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  • [โ€“] 6 points 2 years ago

    There is a case to be made that people should be a bit more well rounded in general, and not just find a specific niche.

    So non-technical people should still have a decent familiarity with computers and maybe be able to do some very basic coding. And technical people should spend some time working on their written and verbal communication.

    Because in both cases, it makes people more effective in their roles.

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  • [โ€“] 5 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    Most open source projects rely on volunteers, and few technical writers volunteer.

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  • [โ€“] 2 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Totally agree. And I'd argue that we don't even need technical writers. Even if all people do is correct grammar and spelling mistakes it would be helpful, let alone actually writing docs. It's one of the easiest ways non-technical folks can get involved with open source projects.

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