Re: Style Manuals

[Arthur Schweke <tekwrite -at- HOTMAIL -dot- COM>]

 Ouch!  You know, some of us twenty-somethings are out here in the
workforce, too -- acne or not.  The reason you should pay attention to
us is
because we are the up-and-coming generation of computer users and
workers.
I don't have my books here at work, but there are substantive studies
indicating that people now in high school and jr. high don't even think
lineally anymore.  Instead, they prefer hypertext interfaces that allow
them
to seek out just the information they need.  As a technical writer, I
think
that's a pretty important thing to be aware of.  After all, if my linear
instructions are too boring for them to read, then I've failed in my
goal to
convey my message.
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Heidi,

I am a 40 something, and left my acne behind a long time ago. There is
nothing new to people wanting only the information they need. I am
producing a style manual with a comprehensive toc, so that the user can
go directly to the information they feel they need. (Plenty of
x-references.)

If I am producing on-line help I liberally add in links. My goal is that
a reader only need to read the material one time for an understanding of
the topic.

Nothing you have said is new to writing. It has always been that way.
Presenting knowledge accurately and simply.

I find that boredom in an individual is a product of immaturity and an
inability to grasp concepts not the writing. Welcome to the
short-attention span millennium.

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