RIP STC

A proud papa moment: My daughter told me that she wants to follow in my footsteps and become a technical writer! She discussed the possibility with her manager at work and asked me for advice on how to get started.

The first thing I wanted to do was direct her to the premier organization for technical writers, the Society for Technical Communication (STC). I first went to the website of our local branch, and it was gone. Then I went to the main website, stc.org. It was gone too. Puzzled, I went to the Wikipedia page about the STC. There, I found that heartbreaking verb, “The Society for Technical Communication (STC) was a professional association dedicated to the advancement of the theory and practice of technical communication…” The STC had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and ceased operations on January 29, 2025.

I hadn’t been an STC member for a long time. Companies generally pay for STC memberships for their technical writers. The decision of my employer to stop paying for STC memberships wasn’t just a financial one. We were finding limited value from participating in the STC. Since the pandemic, the idea of gathering at local chapter meetings and regional and international conventions lost its appeal.

But at its prime, the STC was the core of the technical writing community.