Re: Estimate for On-Line Project

[Faith Weber <weber -at- EASI -dot- ENET -dot- DEC -dot- COM>]

Re: Paul's message. I agree that it shouldn't take a writer 3
years to learn how to write online documents -- that seemed off-
the-wall to me. But apart from that, the estimates presented
seem reasonable. I think these estimates are for genuine online
documents, not page-based documents distributed electronically
(aka electronic documents). I think they are estimates for ideal
circumstances, and should be taken as such.

I disagree that the time is all spent on the learning curve for
the tool. There's a lot of structuring required in creating
online documents, and it is different than the kind of structuring
we're accustomed to in books. To produce a *good*, usable online
document, the author has to spend quite a bit of time planning its
structure, which can be especially difficult if the online document is
being derived from paper.

I also agree that there is often a gulf between academic theory and
reality, but in this case I don't think it's as big as Paul is
suggesting. Also, this gulf can serve a useful purpose. While I
almost never have time to do my work the best possible way or spend
as much time as I think is needed on a given project, the theorists
provide something to aim for by discussing what can be done under
ideal conditions. If I had to do every project as I do now, and didn't
have any hope that I might be able to improve on that, work would
become both boring and depressing in short order!

Faith