Re: Note versus Tip

Subject: Re: Note versus Tip
From: Michael McCallister <workingwriter -at- gmail -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2015 15:19:59 -0600

May not be entirely relevant, but Notes and Tips were always standard and
required elements in the style guide for the Linux and WordPress books I
wrote for Pearson Education (Sams and Que imprints). Used to get dinged by
editors if there weren't enough of them. If print/PDF is the target output,
I do think they break up the rows of text pretty well.

As for the distinction, typically Notes were thought to be helpful
background information that you did not necessarily need to know to
complete a task. Tips offered shortcuts or workarounds.

Mike


Mike McCallister
Just released: *Build Your Author Platform: The New Rules*
<http://buildauthorplatform.com> (w/Carole Jelen)
Notes from the Metaverse: http://metaverse.wordpress.com

On Tue, Feb 10, 2015 at 2:59 PM, Laura Lemay <lemay -at- lauralemay -dot- com> wrote:

>
> Note (cough) that MSTP defines notes and tips as distinct things.
>
> I think it is pointless to separate them but I had to wrestle with an
> ex-Microsoft writer for them (and lost).
>
> Laura
>
>
> On Feb 10, 2015, at 12:20 PM, Bridget Gordan <bridget -dot- gordan -at- gmail -dot- com>
> wrote:
>
> > Where I work now does this. I find it distracting. At my last job, where
> I
> > ruled the doc world, I incorporated notes into the text and just had tips
> > identified with a label.
> >
> > Bridget
> >
> > On Tue, Feb 10, 2015 at 2:43 PM, Sean Brierley <
> > sean -dot- brierley -at- gerberscientific -dot- com> wrote:
> >
> >> Hi all,
> >>
> >> A search yields nothing. Anyone know of a study that identifies if
> having a
> >> both a note and a tip in technical communication is useful. that is, if
> a
> >> tip is an optional thing that helps you finish a task more efficiently,
> and
> >> a note contains information that affects successful completion of a
> task,
> >> is there a study that tells us whether our audience cares about the
> >> difference?
> >>
> >> Thoughts?
> >>
> >> Sean
> >> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> >> Doc-To-Help: The Quickest Way to Author and Publish Online Help, Policy
> &
> >> Procedure Guides, eBooks, and more using Microsoft Word |
> >> http://bit.ly/doctohelp2015
> >>
> >> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> >>
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> >>
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> >>
> >>
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> and
> >> info.
> >>
> >> Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our
> online
> >> magazine at http://techwhirl.com
> >>
> >> Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our public
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> >>
> > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> > Doc-To-Help: The Quickest Way to Author and Publish Online Help, Policy
> & Procedure Guides, eBooks, and more using Microsoft Word |
> http://bit.ly/doctohelp2015
> >
> > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> >
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> and info.
> >
> > Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our
> online magazine at http://techwhirl.com
> >
> > Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our public
> email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Doc-To-Help: The Quickest Way to Author and Publish Online Help, Policy &
> Procedure Guides, eBooks, and more using Microsoft Word |
> http://bit.ly/doctohelp2015
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as workingwriter -at- gmail -dot- com -dot-
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
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>
> Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
> http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and
> info.
>
> Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our online
> magazine at http://techwhirl.com
>
> Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our public
> email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
>
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Doc-To-Help: The Quickest Way to Author and Publish Online Help, Policy & Procedure Guides, eBooks, and more using Microsoft Word | http://bit.ly/doctohelp2015

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Follow-Ups:

References:
Note versus Tip: From: Sean Brierley
Re: Note versus Tip: From: Bridget Gordan
Re: Note versus Tip: From: Laura Lemay

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