Since it has been many years since I've formally done technical writing, I tend to not get involved in "we don't get no respect" conversations (which seem as common in the IA, graphic design, and usability communities as they are in the tech writing community). This often leads to calls for certification as a panacea...which I'm not fond of either (and is something that neither STC nor UPA are actively pursuing). But I digress.

After having been very encouraged by outreach to the STC community (particularly from the ASIS&T and DUX2003 communities) it was a bit depressing to twice this week have a Tina (see right) moment. Once was on a list whose privacy is extremely valued, so I'll say no more (and may have been an over-reaction on my part). The other was in the weblog space. The fine folk of Tomalak's Realm have apparently decided that STC's annual conference is not worthy of their conference listing. Bummer.

That's unfortunate, as STC is not just a conference for tech writers anymore. Technical communicators are very interested in issues related to online design, usability, and content management, among others. And at $560 for three days, it's also a pretty good buy. So...it'd be great to see you there! And boy, the airfares aren't bad (I got $244 round-trip from National today).

If Dallas this May isn't your thing, then perhaps you might be interested in next year's conference, which will be held May 9-12, 2004 in the very fun city of Baltimore, Maryland. The call for proposals has gone out, and speaking as a member of next year's program committee, I'd love to see some more proposals in the IA, interaction design, and user experience space (we're doing well with usability, so they don't need the nudge :).

As the locals say, c'mon hon! We'd love to see you there!

Update: 4/18. We've been listed! Not sure what happened. It probably has something to do with the difference between being a hub or a node.

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