STC UK Chapter Discussion group

The UK Chapter currently runs two email lists.

• The first is an announcements-only list, which only works in one direction, from the chapter board to all Chapter members. You do not have to do anything to join this list.
• In addition, the Chapter runs an open discussion list on Yahoo! Groups, called stc_uk_discuss. The home page for the list is at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stc_uk_discuss/

This list was set up so that members of the UK Chapter could discuss subjects related to technical writing in general and to technical writing in the UK in particular, but anyone else who has an interest in tech writing in the UK is also welcome to join. At present, about two-thirds of the list's subscribers are not chapter members. If you want to take part in this discussion list you need to subscribe.

Subscribing

Although the standard Yahoo! Groups instructions describe how to subscribe automatically by email, we have disabled this feature to prevent problems with automated spammers. If you'd like to join this list, please email the list owner at stc_uk_discuss-owner@yahoogroups.com with your request.

If you are an STC Member, please include the following information in your email:your name, your STC membership number, the email address you wish to use for your subscription, and if you are not a member of the UK Chapter, the name of the STC community that you do belong to.

If you are not an STC member, please tell us who you are and why you want to join. Don't forget to tell us your name, your location, and the email address you want to use for membership.

The discussion list moderators generally reply to all joining requests within 48 hours.

Sending messages

Once you have joined the list, messages you send to the following address are seen by all subscribers: stc_uk_discuss@yahoogroups.com

When you reply to a list message, your reply goes to the whole list, not ot the individual subscriber, unless you take care to change the address in the To: field of your email client.

Contacting the list owner

To contact the list owner about any technical problem you may have write to : stc_uk_discuss-owner@yahoogroups.com

Web access to the list

You can access the message archive at the list's home page http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stc_uk_discuss/.

After you have joined the list you can also use the Web interface to post messages, but you need to have a Yahoo! ID. To set up a Yahoo! ID visit http://uk.my.yahoo.com and following the link "Get Your Own My Yahoo!". This is a free service, and gives you a free 1GB Web mail account, as well as Web access to the dozens of lists at Yahoo! Groups.

Why you should join the list

If you have not already joined stc_uk_discuss, please do think about joining. There are a large number of other email lists for technical writers but stc_uk_discuss is the only one specifically for UK writers, their problems, and their solutions. You can really make a contribution to the technical writing community in the UK by joining the list and taking part in discussions.

David Farbey and Mick Robinson, list moderators

 

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Discussion Lists

There are many Internet discussion lists for technical writers including TECHWR-L and TECHCOMM.

• TECHWR-L
  is the leading discussion list for technical writers, with over 5000 subscribers. It has been running since 1993. For subscription information, articles, archives and resources visit the Official Techwr-l site.
  
  
• TECHCOMM
  is an irreverent group of technical writers who discuss every subject under the sun, including, very occasionally, technical writing. If Techwr-l is the well ordered conference, then Techcomm is proud to be the rowdy, outrageous and opinionated bar. If you are easily offended, don't join. If you are easily amused, see the Techcomm home pages.

Both the Techwr-l and Techcomm sites have lists of other discussion groups and resources.

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Language

We'd like to hear from you if you have information about links to websites that deal with interesting aspects of the use of language, humourous or serious, in technical fields.

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Search Engines

• Google
  A web trawler that seems to find far more accurate results than many others.

• Atomica
  Once set up, it is simply a matter of [ALT]-right-mouse clicking on a word to get dictionary definitions, thesaurus entries and web site search results.