Re: Re. moving docs entirely online?

[Romay Jean Sitze <rositze -at- NMSU -dot- EDU>]

To what Geoff offers, add that many of us find that online documentation
actually interferes with our normal reading speed. I tend to scan a
document page by page for a quick read.  Most of the online documentation
that came with the software I use seems to be in the form of a
combination of help screens and "Readme" files.  In each case, I spend
more time locating the info I want than I do in the paper docs I use.  At
least part of the problem is in the page limits of the screen display.

On Thu, 15 Jun 1995, Geoff Hart wrote:

>      In response to the original poster (now lost in the mists of time and
>      digestion) who asked how to justify retaining paper documentation, I'd
>      provide the following rebuttals:
>      - A few posters noted that you can't read online info. in the bathroom
>      (unless you're a real wirehead and have LCD screens right above the
>      toilet paper). You also can't read it while commuting; based on
>      personal experience, and the number of manuals I've seen being read on
>      subways, trains and airplanes, this is significant.
>      - There are sometimes significant hardware and/or network requirements
>      for online help.
>      - Most online help can't be displayed on-screen at the same time as
>      the application it refers to; this can be due to deficiencies in the
>      software or inadequate hardware (e.g., my 14" VGA monitor has no
>      room). Thus, you have to toggle back and forth between the help and
>      the software, and you may also have to write down a summary of the
>      list of steps in a solution so you can follow the steps when you
>      return to the original software that posed the problem.

>      You could probably prove your point by sitting down with the engineer
>      and asking him to work in some software with online help for half an
>      hour. Push him to try new things he hasn't tried before. But take away
>      the printed manual and get him to rely solely on the online help and
>      see how he feels after half an hour.

>      --Geoff Hart    #8^{)}
>      geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca

>      Disclaimer: If I didn't commit it in print in one of
>      our reports, it don't represent FERIC's opinion.


        RoMay Sitze,  rositze -at- nmsu -dot- edu