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Subject:RE: levels of detail -- are we beyond this? From:"Butler, Darren J CTR USAF AFMC 584 CBSS/GBHAC" <Darren -dot- Butler -dot- ctr -at- Robins -dot- af -dot- mil> To:<techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:51:41 -0400
I often "spell-out" a URL or a file path just to be sure. Most techies
will just skim-over the START > PROGRAM > etc parts-but then
again.......
>>Lather-Rinse-Repeat......<<
Although we're having a bit of fun with the shampoo-thang, this
illustrates our conundrum as tech writers. We're noticing that a
small-but-growing portion of our audience may be super tech-savvy but
s**k at common sense. Knowing exactly when and what to "dumb-down" in a
user doc is a frequent problem for some of us.
A good example is the oft-told anecdote of the college-age cashier who
can work her iPhone until it texts, sings, dances, gets a GPS fix on
Ancient Atlantis, and translates Shakespeare into Swahili, but-if the
cash register breaks down-couldn't figger-out how much change she owes
you if her life depended on it.
-Darren
-----Original Message-----
From:
techwr-l-bounces+darren -dot- butler -dot- ctr=robins -dot- af -dot- mil -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+darren -dot- butler -dot- ctr=robins -dot- af -dot- mil -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot-
com] On Behalf Of Combs, Richard
Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 11:42 AM
To: Downing, David; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: levels of detail -- are we beyond this?
Downing, David wrote:
> Regarding the shampoo instructions that were being discussed on Friday
-
> lather, rinse, repeat -- you don't really need to repeat. Once is
> enough. I submit that this last "instruction" is actually a piece of
> propaganda intended to sell twice as much shampoo.
My current shampoo (Melaleuca Original) says, "Repeat if desired" -- a
refreshing acknowledgement that this step is entirely optional. Plus, it
addresses the "endless loop" issue that someone was concerned about. :-)
Richard
Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
------
rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-777-0436
------
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