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Bill Sullivan
bsullivan -at- deltecpower -dot- com
>>> WandaJane Phillips <wandajp -at- andyne -dot- on -dot- ca> - 1/25/96 10:35 AM >>>
Well, this little discussion sure has wandered all over. I feel
compelled to clarify that my buddy was not talking about cartoons,
per se, but, um, lets call them *pert* icons and perhaps even a kind
of guide, like Bob...
A social interface for a user's guide.
The idea buddy holds is that these little goofies make the guide
*less intimidating*.
I think it's an over-reaction to how obviscated guides can be...
probably nobody on *this* list has ever written such a guide, but it
is true that one of the factors behind my decision to take up
technical writing was the terrible manual that came with my bicycle
-- I eventuallyl abandoned the book and put the bike together
according to my own concept/internal model of a bike.
I agree you have to know your audience, understand your product, and
understand the relationship between the two. If that analysis results
in cutsie icons littering my pages, I suppose I'll have to submit.
--
WandaJane Phillips
Senior Technical Writer -- Pablo
Andyne Computing
Usual disclaimers in effect
