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I am not advocating for removing safety information from any manual. I am advocating for providing end users with information in a format they will actually use. Three chapters of non-procedural regulatory information at the start of a document does nothing to enhance or improve the end-user experience. If anything, it frustrates them because they have to read 30 pages before getting to any procedures. By that time they have put down the manual and called our help-desk.
When I said remove content, I meant to say move it to a different document or different location in the document (like the back instead of the front).
Safety sections can be useful at the start of a document, but sometimes it is difficult to understand them without context.
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+bdavies=imris -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+bdavies=imris -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Dan Goldstein
Sent: May-05-11 1:45 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: Disclaim THIS!
If you had the authority, you'd really *remove* the regulatory and safety information?
-----Original Message-----
From: Ben Davies
Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2011 2:38 PM
To: Paul Goble; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: Disclaim THIS!
I do not read disclaimers because they do not contain any information I have ever needed when using a product.
My company is in the medical industry, and we are forced to put three chapters of regulatory and safety information at the front. I skip all three chapters every time I open the document and assume our users do as well. The only reason we put it up front is because I do not have enough authority in the company to get it removed or into its own stand-alone format.
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