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: Sam Clemens is dead From:Romay Jean Sitze <rositze -at- NMSU -dot- EDU> Date:Mon, 3 Oct 1994 12:52:13 -0600
I share this opinion. At the rate things are going, even with today's
technology, I will need a room full of memory just to hold all the online
documentation to tell me how to run my programs! As far as I am
concerned, it make no difference whether the documentation is online or
printed, if it is too long, it becomes self-defeating. I vote for
emphasizing the important things, and keeping the rest as simple as
possible. Of course, I admit there is a problem in determining the
important things. . .
Or are we all asking for the moon?
On Mon, 3 Oct 1994, Vicki Rosenzweig wrote:
> Richard--
> It sounds to me that your argument, when it's valid (and I think
> it depends on the complexity of the software) is going to apply
> equally to online documentation: if you can't include it in
> 1000 pages of nine-point type, can you include it in the amount
> of disk space that you have time to fill before the product ships?
> And can you fit it on the laptop they'll give me for my next
> business trip? At that point, I think our goal has to be to provide
> the most important information, and get the software developers to
> make the software as easy to use as possible, since such a program
> can only be learned hands-on.
> Vicki Rosenzweig
> vr%acmcr -dot- uucp -at- murphy -dot- com
> New York, NY
****************************************
* RoMay Sitze rositze -at- nmsu -dot- edu *
****************************************
* Mirrors should reflect a *
* little before throwing *
* back images. *
* -Jean Cocteau- *
****************************************