Re: help with a strong word

[Chuck <writer -at- BEST -dot- COM>]

Kevin,

My response would depend on what you mean by "dangerous." Life
threatening? Equipment damaging? Data loss? Critical data loss?
Interruption of real-time processing?

I assume that you have established icons to indicate levels of risk
(where is exists), such as the typical "caution," "warning," and
"danger" icons. (Incidentally, "danger" is supposed to be used only for
indicating where there is actually physical risk to the user.)

I would use the appropriate icon along with explanatory text immediately
after the prepositional phrase heading ("To fromfram the jabberwitz:")
and before step 1. If there is a specific, critical,
do-the-wrong-thing-here-and-all-is-lost step, I'd probably add another
appropriate icon with explanatory text.

I note that you say that "only the system administrator can perform this
function." But I'd wager that anyone with the System Administrator role
can do it, whether or not the actual person with that role knows what
they are doing or not. I think that's a critical distinction that should
also be explained.

But you can't say "don't do this"--at least not in the heading--because
it's obviously something that someone will want to do for some reason at
some point. You do have to allow your users to take responsibility for
their own actions. Just tell them what they need to know, tell them that
what they are doing is risky, explain how to complete the procedure
correctly, and move on.

Kevin McGowan wrote:
>
> Hi Tech Writer folks,
>
> We have to document a dangerous software procedure, and want to come up
with
> a title that will sufficiently frighten the user. Basically, this is a
> software application, and only the system administrator can perform this
> function, and he/she must do it VERY CAREFULLY.
>
> Something like "F---ing with the server" comes to mind, but is a little
too
> strong and potentially offensive. Any suggestions?
>
> Yes, we must document this, and yes, there will be warnings all over it,
but
> we need a title that clearly says "don't do this" without actually saying
> "don't do this."
>
> All suggestions welcome!
>

--
"Online help should ignore first-time users and concentrate
on those people who are already successful using the
product, but who want to expand their horizons."
        - Alan Cooper
        "About Face: The Essentials of User Interface Design"

Chuck Martin
writer"at"best.com    www.writeforyou.com

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