Opinions on Embedded Help?

Subject: Opinions on Embedded Help?
From: David Castro <techwrtr -at- CRL -dot- COM>
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 16:08:49 -0800

I'm including embedded help in the next release of the software I'm
writing, and wanted to see what others on the list thought of this "new"
idea. I'd like your general opinions on what you think of the idea, and
also how you would answer the following specific question:

Should we give users an option to turn off embedded help, or should we keep
it always there so that it's always giving them different things to read?
At the WinWriters Conference, one presenter put it this way (paraphrased):

"You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink...
...but you *can* dunk its head under water and kick it up the backside!"

That is, if the help is always showing, then sooner or later, the user will
read it. If we let them turn it off, then they may miss the tips that they
might otherwise learn about.

-David Castro
techwrtr -at- crl -dot- com
Creator of the Digester's Reader
http://www.crl.com/~techwrtr/DigestersReader/


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