Re: Mythical Frame learning curve

Subject: Re: Mythical Frame learning curve
From: Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- AXIONET -dot- COM>
Date: Tue, 7 Jan 1997 11:07:24 -0500

Brian Martin <bmartin -at- NMO -dot- GTEGSC -dot- COM> wrote:

>I fear you shall meet the unicorn one day.

Too late--I'm on a first-name basis with several already :)

I never suggested that Frame was trouble-free. My point is that, if you
know another word processor fairly well (or, better yet, two or three),
you'll know what to expect in Frame, and can learn the basics fairly
quickly--which is basically the same point, Brian, as you make at the
end of your posting.

The quirks and advanced features, of course, take much longer to learn.
I know very few Frame users who aren't continually disovering new things
about the program.

>I frequently find myself assisting others who would otherwise >spend hours figuring something out and perhaps failing. >Perhaps that's typical of any software program that is at all >complex.

I think it is typical. In my experience, the average use of any word
processor rarely uses any feature that can't be found on a typewriter.
Macros, merges, styles, templates, indexing--I believe that all these
things are largely ignored by the average academic, executive, clerk, or
even typist. I've amazed some people simply by changing the font.

That's not a putdown of these people. They've simply learned the minimum
they need, that's all. And, not too long ago, I was one of them.

Still, I'm not surprised if average users have trouble with Frame. They
don't have the background to learn it quickly.

--
Bruce Byfield (bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com)
Technical Writer
Burnaby, BC, Canada
(604) 421-7189

"You can go home again, so long as you understand that home
is a place you have never been." --Ursula K. Le Guin

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