Re. moving docs entirely online?

[Geoff Hart <geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA>]

     In response to the original poster (now lost in the mists of time and
     digestion) who asked how to justify retaining paper documentation, I'd
     provide the following rebuttals:
     - A few posters noted that you can't read online info. in the bathroom
     (unless you're a real wirehead and have LCD screens right above the
     toilet paper). You also can't read it while commuting; based on
     personal experience, and the number of manuals I've seen being read on
     subways, trains and airplanes, this is significant.
     - There are sometimes significant hardware and/or network requirements
     for online help.
     - Most online help can't be displayed on-screen at the same time as
     the application it refers to; this can be due to deficiencies in the
     software or inadequate hardware (e.g., my 14" VGA monitor has no
     room). Thus, you have to toggle back and forth between the help and
     the software, and you may also have to write down a summary of the
     list of steps in a solution so you can follow the steps when you
     return to the original software that posed the problem.

     You could probably prove your point by sitting down with the engineer
     and asking him to work in some software with online help for half an
     hour. Push him to try new things he hasn't tried before. But take away
     the printed manual and get him to rely solely on the online help and
     see how he feels after half an hour.

     --Geoff Hart    #8^{)}
     geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca

     Disclaimer: If I didn't commit it in print in one of
     our reports, it don't represent FERIC's opinion.