No need to RTFM

Subject: No need to RTFM
From: Stuart Burnfield <slb -at- FS -dot- COM -dot- AU>
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 1997 13:39:18 +0800

> As long as the document's ToC is generated from heading styles,
> not ToC codes, you can do this with the shareware program
> rtftohtml.
^
Note that this F could be considered

". . .tastless and crude, adding nothing to the instruction
and demeaning not just the reader but the writer (if only
because it's verbose). Why not just leave it out?"

On a more serious note, a few years ago my brother asked for my advice
about what sort of PC to buy. He was living in Japan then, and could
speak OK Japanese, but was worried about having to deal with technical
support if he had problems or needed advice.

I was investigating Macs as I'd heard they were more stable and easier
for non-computer types to set up and administer. I asked some people I
knew who had Macs how easy it was to get it up and running out of the
box, and how they found the manuals. I was struck by how similar their
answers were --

Setup: they almost didn't understand the question. To them it was like
an appliance -- you plug everything in, switch it on, and away
you go. Obviously they weren't complete novices, but their
previous PC experience would have been with using software, not
installing it or messing with cables.

(For comparison, this was in the days when the typical Intel PC
came with DOS and a few MB of shareware, and not much else.)

Docs: Most said something like "Good. Uhh, I don't know, I've never
really had to use them."

This was a sign to me (before I even became a TW) that good document-
ation starts with the design of the product.

The unhappy end to the story is that my brother loves Mac so much
(currently on his fourth unit) that he's turned into a Mac bore. I've
created a monster!
---
Stuart Burnfield
Functional Software Pty Ltd
mailto:slb -at- fs -dot- com -dot- au

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