TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Online versus Paper From:mpriestley -at- VNET -dot- IBM -dot- COM Date:Fri, 23 Sep 1994 17:23:46 EDT
Richard Lippincott writes, in defense of paper:
>my job was enormous.) The on-line help with this database wasn't terribly
>useful, it certainly had no "How to build a database from scratch"
>information. Finally, I went to a book store, shelled out some of my
This isn't terribly fair. Comparing bad online docs with good hardcopy docs
doesn't tell you anything about the comparative value of the two media.
If the on-line help had been useful, and had contained exactly that topic,
"How to build a database from scratch", would you still have bought the book?
Now, I could compare Myst with a Harlequin romance, and have a funeral for
paper on the spot (apologies to romance fans). But I'd rather stick to
best-of-breed examples for both sides.
Still a believer in the potential of online,
Michael Priestley
mpriestley -at- vnet -dot- ibm -dot- com
Disclaimer: speaking on my own behalf, not IBM's.