austechwriter list
The following information has been provided by the list owner:
Australian Technical Writers is a free on-line forum and announcement service for local technical writers. It is an open forum (which means that anyone who has an interest in technical communication can subscribe and post messages). When you post a message, your message is automatically sent to all those who subscribe to the forum.
You can subscribe to Australian Technical Writers by sending an email to:
austechwriter-request@freelists.org
with SUBSCRIBE in the Subject line.
Messages will not be moderated; in other words, no-one, not even the owner of the forum, will vet or reject any message posted by a subscriber.
The principal purpose of this forum (or e-group, as such forums are also known) is to provide technical writers with a shared medium to discuss the theory and practice of technical communication. Subscribers are welcome to pose questions, answer other subscribers’ questions, propose particular topics for general discussion, comment on subscribers’ postings, share software tips, share their discovery of useful tools, journals, books or web sites, post reviews of books, software or conferences, advertise software or books or the need for software or books … indeed, post any type of message as long as the message is relevant to technical writing.
Australian Technical Writers can also be used as a forum for discussing housekeeping issues of relevance to the profession of technical writing in Australia. For instance, postings could cover tax or superannuation issues of concern to contract technical writers, or the various types of contracts offered to Australian technical writers. Subscribers can also use the forum to advertise their forthcoming availability for technical writing positions, or to notify others of forthcoming positions they know about.
But Australian Technical Writers is more than just a discussion forum for those who work in, or have an interest in, technical communication. It is also an announcement service for those who, though not subscribers, have information of relevance they wish to make known to technical writers. Some examples: a recruitment agency can advertise a technical writing position; professional societies can make their services known; the organiser of a lecture or conference on technical communication can publicise that lecture or conference; a software house can alert users to the availability of a patch for, or new version of, a software tool; the editor of a technical writing journal can publicise the contents of the next issue of the journal; the tutor of a course in technical communication can make details of the course known; publishing houses can publicise a forthcoming book on technical writing; and so on. Unlike the postings of subscribers, the postings of non-subscribers will be moderated. Those wishing to use Australian Technical Writers for publicity (as in the sample cases just mentioned) will need to forward their intended postings to the owner of this egroup, who will then determine the relevance of the material in light of the purpose of Australian Technical Writers. Material of limited or no relevance, material in poor taste or material that is part of a spam campaign will not be accepted for posting.