Re: Formality is going bye-bye?

[John Garison <john -at- garisons -dot- com>]

Hi Colin,

IMHO, they know their audience, and they're talking clearly and directly 
to them.

I don't have a real problem with this. But then I advocate using 
contractions in my documentation, too. Anything that makes the content 
more readable and less off-putting is a good thing. If formality is a 
barrier between me and my audience, and if I can get my message across 
while using less stilted language, I'm all for it.

Ever read the manuals associated with games? They're pretty informal, 
too. And I believe one of them won an STC Best of Show award a few years 
ago - complete with torn pages, 'handwritten' crib notes, and so forth 
... it made the documentation part of the game.

As long as accuracy and completeness are not compromised - and the 
Google Q&A format does a good job of presenting complete information - I 
say go for it. ANYTHING that will encourage (and not discourage) people 
from reading and learning is acceptable (as long as it doesn't alienate 
other readers).

Hmmm ... maybe instead of levels of documentation: beginner, advanced, 
wizard - we need to think about age stratification: teenz, adults, and 
mature.

My 2¢,


John



Collin T wrote: