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Subject:Re: To Preface or Not To Preface From:Jim Grey <jwg -at- ACD4 -dot- ACD -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 15 Jun 1994 07:46:50 -0500
Yvonne DeGraw stakes a valiant claim:
>"About this guide" is good because it is honest.
Agreed. I've been using "Read This First!". We use the section for
the usual purposes of "What is this manual for?" "What does this manual
cover?" "What does this manual not cover and where can I find that
information?" "How is this manual organized and what conventions does
it use?"
This taps into appropriate section naming in general. When I got here,
our manuals (all of which were reference guides) were boilerplate. Section
One was always "Introduction" and Section Two was always "General". The
introduction was a product overview, and "General" described manual
conventions and user-system interaction. These titles gave no clue about
what the section contained. Just what does "General" mean, anyway? General
information about the product? General information about the manual? Does
a General have to read this section? What?
jim grey
--
jim grey |"Ain't nothin' better in the world, you know
jwg -at- acd4 -dot- acd -dot- com |Than lyin' in the sun, listenin' to the radio" - D. Boone
jimgrey -at- delphi -dot- com|GO/M d p+ c++(-) l u+ e- m*@ s+/ n+ h f++ g- w+@ t+ r- y+(*)
|ACD, Terre Haute, IN -- The Silicon Cornfield
