Simplicity of directions (was RE: Display, Displays, or Appears

["McLauchlan, Kevin" <Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com>]

Quite likely, but your example still managed to illustrate the
functional failings of a lot of instructions that we encounter. Granted,
the out-of-order or assumed-not-in-evidence stuff seems to happen more
often with verbal on-the-fly instructions... the kind that you get when
you stop to ask "a local".   :-)

On the other hand, it's possible to go too far the other way and cram in
too much stuff.
Just this weekend, I spent a bit more time (that was a bit more tedious)
than strictly necessary, figuring out how to erect one of those
tent-gazebo things on my back deck.  My wife, who is at least as bright
as I am (sorry Dear, not meaning to damn you with faint praise), also
found the instructions unhelpful.   After we figured out what was
supposed to be going on, by trial-and-terror, the instructions began to
make a little sense - pity that that didn't come about _before_ we
started "wingin' it".

I believe that the entire problem was that the prime directive to the
writer (and drawer) was:
"Make it fit on these 3 pages."

So, there were single "steps" twice as long as my second paragraph,
above, with multiple things happening, and referring to drawings in
which multiple things were happening... or trying to.

I'm not saying that your example had those attributes; just that it
presented a similar opportunity for the reader/listener to miss
something important. And then I went in a different direction, though
still within the space of directions that don't quite serve.

> -----Original Message-----
> From:
techwr-l-bounces+kevin -dot- mclauchlan=safenet-inc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+kevin -dot- mclauchlan=safenet-inc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-
> l.com] On Behalf Of Bonnie Granat
> Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:31
> To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: RE: Display, Displays, or Appears
> 
> Kevin,
> 
> It was more the principle, the idea, the notion in a general sense,
that I
> was after. The concept. Not the structure of the directions I happened
to
> write.
> 
> 
> Bonnie Granat
> http://www.GranatEdit.com
> 
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: McLauchlan, Kevin [mailto:Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com]
> 
> > But even if everything's there, I want the mailbox to be
> > located (by the
> > instructions) with respect to the other features.
> 
> 
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