Re: Are your documents interesting?

["Gene Kim-Eng" <techwr -at- genek -dot- com>]

I have written documents where I used conversational prose, 
humor and even comic book illustrations in appropriate situations.

My operating procedure for loading Trident missile launchers 
was not one of them.

Gene Kim-Eng


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Nuckols, Kenneth M" <Kenneth -dot- Nuckols -at- mybrighthouse -dot- com>

Therefore I avoid (intentional) humor in my documentation. Dick does
make a good point.  If you're documenting a video game or writing a
manual for _enthusiasts_ to make repairs to a car or something (the VW
Repair manual that was cited on the list in the past couple of days
comes to mind), then humor might be entirely appropriate to put the user
at ease and keep them interested. 

But when someone has to use your documentation to complete a task that
has a lot of stress, IMO the best thing you can do is present the
information with clarity, precision, and only as much additional
explanation as the user needs to complete the task. Don't waste their
time or try to be funny. That's just my personal preference.


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