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This is similar to an annoying practice of telling a user what they
cannot/should/must do, but not telling them why. For example, when you are
told to use an appliance "only with a BrandName adaptor," is a user to
assume that this is for (a) safety reasons, (b) marketing reasons, (c)
regulatory reasons, or (d) CYA reasons? If you lose the adaptor to your
older-model appliance, then what?
Similarly, in a house I rented, the instructions with the heat thermostat
were so confounding that I never did get the thermostat to turn the heat up
and down when I wanted, mostly because of the "stupid" instructions on the
inside of the thermostat cover. By stupid, I mean the author told me to push
a button once or twice, but never explained what the key sequence met, so I
didn't know if the sequence worked until morning, when I awoke to a frigid
house.
Rahel Bailie
Marilynne wrote:
>My new car has a manual where the writer (or someone in legal) wanted to be
sure I was safe. Every possible warning is in there. It's hard to find
the material I want to read and when I find it, it often isn't clear or
complete enough. At first I laughed. Then I became annoyed. Do I need
that much detail about dangers or do I want more detail on which of the 6
radios discussed in the book is the one I own? I need to know what oil to
put in and how much gas the tank holds. Instead, I am treated to more
warnings and cautions I ever thought possible, relatively few connected to
driving the vehicle down the road.
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