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>Many people, though, have fallen for the line that on-line documentation
>is somehow very different -- that the fact that it is on-line changes
>the nature of the information that people need to use the product.
...
>Of course, not everyone falls for this piece of idiocy
Having created several, count me as one of the idiots who believes that
on-line documents are somehow very different. The difference, however,
is not in the information people need so much as in the way the information
must be presented.
> I'm AMAZED at the number of programs in whichI have where the documentation
>has sunk to the duh-level
Sure. And writing it that way is very simple (writing a lousy document
is almost _always_ easy).
One of the things that makes an on-line document different is the difficulty
inherent in presenting highly technical information in a compact hypertext
environment. I'm surprised Robert didn't mention this.
Assuming the on-line author does a good job, then the 'buttons, balloons,
sound bites, pictures, and hyperlinks' make the document different.
Perhaps I'm missing something here...
David (The Man) Blyth
Technical Writer & Web Site Designer
QUALCOMM
The usual disclaimers apply - QUALCOMM isn't that crazy.
