Re: Indexing whitepaper from Bright Path
Indexing is a Black Art, 'tis true. But am I the only one who finds that site just a little bit disingenuous?
I've been trying to improve my indexing skills for a while now, but
finding information about how to produce a good index hasn't been easy.
Now Bright Path Solutions have just released a white paper called
"<a href="http://www.travelthepath.com/HTML/whitepapers.shtml";>Creating Usable Indexes: A Systematic Approach to Editing Indexes for
Quality and Usability</a>". Its 21 pages provide the best guidelines on
indexing I've seen in my entire technical writing career. This paper is a
gem; in fact it's one of the best pieces of technical writing instruction
that I've seen anywhere. If you are at all interested in improving your
indexing skills, request it from Bright Path. Your readers will thank you.
Put simply, the white papers are not "free," as the page headline states. You apparently cannot simply view the information, but must "request" it. To get that information, you must surrender your (an) email address because the request link is a mailto: link.
There is no link I can find to any sort of privacy policy on that page. Therefore, the company can do what it will with your email address, including seling it to anyone.
I find it slightly ironic to notice that the company defines itslef as, among other things, a "small business" that is "woman owned," as if those characteristics equate to the quality of its work (although to be fair, there's probably a closer corellation to the amount of interaction you'd get). Yet that attempt and customer frienliness is lost when they ask you to surrender your email address.
So the question is: is the value of the information they offer worth the value of the information about you that you would give? Each person, of course, decides for themselves, but the information offered is most certainly not "free."
One last thought: a fundamental premise of thw web itself is the sharing of information. To offer information "one off," if not violating that spirit, at least sends ripples of disturbance through it.
--
--
Chuck Martin
User Assistance & Experience Engineer
twriter "at" sonic "dot" net www.writeforyou.com
"I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. The day
may come when the courage of Men fail, when we forsake our friends and
break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day! This day, we fight!"
- Aragorn
"All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given you."
- Gandalf
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