Re: Jargon Lovin' Fool

[Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>]

Bonnie Granat wrote:

> Nongeek users want to know how to perform a task using the software. They
> don't want some self-absorbed airhead "educating' them. Give them what they
> want -- that's what "know thy audience" means -- and don't give them what
> you think they should want.

For that matter, that's often all that geeks want. That's why you have both man
pages and FAQs. :-)

Seriously, I don't see anything wrong with trying to slip in a little extra
information on occasion. I figure that, if people understand some of the
concepts, they might be more likely to remember the procedure. However, like
Bonnie, I think that many users crack a manual simply so that they can get on
with their jobs.

--
Bruce Byfield bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com 604.421.7177

"In the ashes of American Jerusalem
The prophets live their deaths out on the corner
The pretty people say, 'There should have been a warning'
But nobody heard it."
- Rod Macdonald, "American Jerusalem"


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