Re: Reasons for online

[Coleen MacKay <cmackay -at- BNA -dot- COM>]

          This is great!  We're having a better discussion on indexing
          here than on the indexing list.  I'll try to respond to
          several comments made in response to my defense of indexing.

          Caryn Rizell said she finds the manual index to be superior
          to the online index.  Bob Morrisette said he didn't
          understand that, that FrameMaker provided hypertext links to
          create an index and what could be quicker than that?

          First, Jan Boomsliter asked us to define our terms.  I did
          assume that when Caryn said she saw a difference in the
          manual and online indexes, that the manual index was created
          by an indexer, and the online index was created by a
          software utility.  They couldn't be exactly the same,
          otherwise why would Caryn see a difference?

          Several people pointed out that the hypertext links are not
          taken from the text, but are added by a human indexer.  I
          hadn't realized that.  But that doesn't mean the human
          providing the links has any training as an indexer.  (We
          don't use Frame at my company, but I would be interested in
          seeing exactly how these hypertext index links are
          established, before I can comment further on them.)

          Becky Hough pointed out that using Frame, the manual and
          online indexes are identical.  Maybe they can be, but if
          that's the case with the document Caryn originally referred
          to, why does she find the manual index to be superior?
          It seems to me the 2 indexes must have been created
          independently.

          Brad Lindamood assumed that what Bob was saying was "that
          jumping from the online index to the referenced page is
          much quicker via a hypertext link."  Just because hypertext
          provides quicker access than one gets flipping through a
          paper index doesn't mean it provides more *accurate* access,
          if indeed the 2 indexes were created separately.

          As a few other techwirlers said, as online documentation
          evolves, we do have to pay attention to things like indexes.
          It is a rare user who will read all the way through a
          product's technical documentation solely because of its
          literary value.  We have to make sure they have quick
          accurate access to the section of documentation they need at
          a particular frantic moment.

          I would welcome any further clarifications if I'm still
          misinterpreting anything.

          Coleen MacKay
          cmackay -at- bna -dot- com