Re: Re. moving docs entirely online?

Subject: Re: Re. moving docs entirely online?
From: Romay Jean Sitze <rositze -at- NMSU -dot- EDU>
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 1995 20:10:39 -0600

To what Geoff offers, add that many of us find that online documentation
actually interferes with our normal reading speed. I tend to scan a
document page by page for a quick read. Most of the online documentation
that came with the software I use seems to be in the form of a
combination of help screens and "Readme" files. In each case, I spend
more time locating the info I want than I do in the paper docs I use. At
least part of the problem is in the page limits of the screen display.

On Thu, 15 Jun 1995, Geoff Hart wrote:

> 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.


RoMay Sitze, rositze -at- nmsu -dot- edu


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