Re: How Would You

Subject: Re: How Would You
From: Robert Plamondon <robert -at- PLAMONDON -dot- COM>
Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 08:41:14 -0700

Bugs, bug fixes, and the like need to be identified individually
so people can talk about them. Bugs and bug fixes are a constant
source of telephone and e-mail conversation, and if you don't
number them, it's very difficult to discuss them at all.

Sure, you could use bullets or a sweeping, uninterrupted narrative,
but this forces people to refer to "the second paragraph on page
12." Even this doesn't work for HTML, which is unpaginated.

Section numbers and numbered paragraphs make it a lot easier for
people to discuss the material in a technical manual. Only if
the reader is truly expected to deal with the information in
isolation (as in very simple tutorials) should the signposts be
knocked down.

-- Robert

--
Robert Plamondon, High-Tech Technical Writing, Inc.
36475 Norton Creek Road * Blodgett * Oregon * 97326
robert -at- plamondon -dot- com * (541) 453-5841 * Fax: (541) 453-4139
http://www.pioneer.net/~robertp

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