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Subject:Re: reasons for online From:Timothy Schablin <timothy -at- ESKIMO -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 20 Dec 1994 12:58:37 -0800
I agree with you virginia. any online docs must be USABLE to the
consumer. I wonder though, what would happen if consumers were forced to
use online docs and they didn't like the online idea. I suppose they
would ignore the docs like 70% of consumers do now.
We must write documentation to suit the reader, not our pockets.
On Mon, 19 Dec 1994, Virginia L. Krenn wrote:
> A question just occurred to me when I read this message. We were
> given a set of manuals for a purchased software system. The manuals
> contain a provision that they may not be reproduced and that
> additional copies must be purchased from the vendor.
> If the documentation is online, would it be customary to allow
> multiple copies to be printed?
> ______________________________ Reply Separator ____________________
> Author: Caryn Rizell <caryn -at- hpptc95 -dot- rose -dot- hp -dot- com> at SMTP
> I got to thinking the other day about the reasons that we are putting our
> documentation online. Are we doing it to give the customer easier access
to
> help, or are we doing it to save our company money in printing costs?
> I know that saving money was the motivation at one company I worked for.
> The tech pubs department was seen as a money spender, not a money
> earner. So how best to cut costs? Put the cost burden of access to
> documentation on the customer. Just give them one manual and let them
> print out anything else as they needed it from online.
> Is that common? By providing online docs are we meeting the
> customer's needs?
> I am a big proponent of online docs if they are usable. Right now I
> find that a manual's index is far superior to any online index I have
> seen. Which means that I usually find my answers more quickly in the
> manual.
