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Subject:Re: HTML as document source? From:Shmuel Ben-Artzi <sba -at- NETMEDIA -dot- NET -dot- IL> Date:Fri, 19 Jul 1996 23:14:51 +0200
David,
Forgive me everyone for jumping right in with two posting right off the bat.
I feel, though, that the main point here is being missed.
The question does not have to be one of either/or. The company, if
management decides that this is appropriate, can continue with both printed
and on-line documentation. In fact, I believe that Angela already pointed
out that this was the case.
The real issue, I feel, is the error of trying to make one the model and to
pattern the other after it. The printed page is the printed page; the
on-line document is the on-line document. If you simply take one and try to
port it over (I hope that this is considered a valid expression here) to the
other, then neither will fulfill its purpose.
Web pages should not be made to look like printed documentation, and vice
versa. The design, layout, typographical decisions, and many other such
elements should be made with *each specific medium* in mind.
Sorry, Angela. I know that this literally doubles the effort involved, but
if the decision is to maintain both, there really is no viable alternative
if you want both forms of documentation to be the best that you can produce.
I realize that this doesn't address your other question of unified control
over both media, but I think that you've already received some excellent
comments regarding this issue.
Shalom,
Shmuel Ben-Artzi
Data Systems Manager
Ulpan Akiva Netanya
sba -at- netmedia -dot- net -dot- il
>IMHO, what Angela Howard is witnessing first hand is the shift from
>hard copy to Web driven documents. One can argue that what her company
>wants to do is a Really Bad Idea - and I might even agree with you.
>But that's not going to stop the boulder from rolling down the hill. And
>it's rolling straight towards Technical Writers like Angela, jump or die.
>My vote is to jump - deeper into the Web.
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