Well said, John. Good instructions for almost anything are hard to come by. -- Doug Nix, A.Sc.T. IEEE PSES Toronto Chapter Toronto Section, Ontario, Canada
[email protected] mobile (519) 729-5704 fax (519) 653-1318 On 23-Sep-09, at 2:29 PM, John Woodgate wrote: > In message <OF35A0FCB2.82250EFF-ON862 [email protected] > >, dated Wed, 23 Sep 2009, [email protected] writes: > >> Thanks for the "translation", John. The regulation text now makes >> some sense. I wish "they" would publish a guide that explains it as >> clearly as you have. > > It probably wouldn't help. I'm going to write a frank explanation. > > May of the writers are not native English speakers, but have learned > English to a very high standard. However, something other than > 'learning' is required to see places where doubt could arise and > more clarity is needed. > > A good instruction-book writer gains a comprehensive knowledge of > the product and then mentally puts that all aside and looks at it as > if he/she had just bought and unpacked the product. Quite often a > writer may find a bug in the product: 'If I press 'OK' and 'Store' > simultaneously, the display reads '778qgeef' and none of the buttons > work any more.' > > This detachment is quite impossible for many people, which is why > many instruction books are incomprehensible. The same skill is > involved in writing crystal-clear regulations. > > There is also a problem for the majority of electronics engineers, > whether English or not. They are not the most adept at choosing > words and comprehending other words. Guide-writing groups are often > composed of administrative officials, some with legal training, and > electronics people **chosen for their expertise in electronics, not > for skill with words**. The administrators, especially the legal > experts, have their own vocabulary, which very often differs very > greatly from that of the engineers, **who often don't realise that > it matters**. > > So draft Guides are often at least as obscure or misleading as the > documents they are intended to be guides to. And, since they are > prepared in bodies not in the standards-making process, there can be > significant reluctance to accept critical comments on the texts. > -- > OOO - Own Opinions Only. Try www.jmwa.demon.co.uk and www.isce.org.uk > Things can always get better. But that's not the only option. > John Woodgate, J M Woodgate and Associates, Rayleigh, Essex UK > > - > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc- > pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e- > mail to <[email protected]> > > All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: > http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc > Graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. can be posted to > that URL. > > Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ > Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html > List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html > > For help, send mail to the list administrators: > Scott Douglas <[email protected]> > Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> > > For policy questions, send mail to: > Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> > David Heald: <[email protected]> - This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <[email protected]> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc Graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. can be posted to that URL. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <[email protected]> Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> David Heald: <[email protected]>
