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Subject:Re: Ig Nobel documentation From:Lin Sims <ljsims -dot- ml -at- gmail -dot- com> To:TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Tue, 23 Oct 2018 15:56:11 -0400
Like good technical writing, good indexing appears to be as much of an art
as it is a skill, but it is one that can be learned. "Too much trouble" is
a value judgement I totally disagree with. It's like saying a manual is too
much trouble to write well. As long as we live in a complex world, good
manuals are essential, and a good index is invaluable. Without them, we're
back to the apprentice system.
<tongue FIRMLY in cheek> Or, in really extreme cases, hoping we can learn
how to do something new and possibly dangerous without killing ourselves in
the process. See Castaway or any post-apocalyptic fiction. ;-) </tFic>
On Tue, Oct 23, 2018 at 1:37 PM Peter Neilson <neilson -at- windstream -dot- net>
wrote:
> This is likely the popular judgment on indexes: "They are too much
> trouble
> to write well, and if created automatically, are not any better than a
> search mechanism. Nobody expects one any more."
>
> On Tue, 23 Oct 2018 13:28:47 -0400, Roberta Hennessey
> <rahennessey -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:
>
> > I am with you on all counts Lin. A good index is invaluable. First
> place
> > I
> > go.
> >
> > Bobbi
> >
> > On Tue, Oct 23, 2018 at 11:54 AM Lin Sims <ljsims -dot- ml -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:
> >
> >> People still index! At my current company, any document over about 20
> >> pages
> >> (not including covers, TOCs, generated lists and legal stuff) gets an
> >> index. This is a first for me, and I've been enjoying learning how to
> >> create a (hopefully) good index.
> >>
> >> On a personal basis, if a PDF document has an index, that's the first
> >> place
> >> I look if I'm trying to find information. TOC is second. Searching is
> >> third.
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--
Lin Sims
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