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Subject:Re: Humor as a communication technique From:"K. Toast Conger" <ktoast -at- WOLFENET -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 16 Jun 1998 11:33:16 -0700
While I agree with the dissenters that humor, as a rule, doesn't work well
in certain types of publications, I would hate to think we are limited on
this list to only user guides, system docs and online help. Those of us
writing training manuals and commercial/retail how-to books face the
daunting task of being instructor, writer and entertainer all at once.
Particularly when you write for the commercial market, humor is an essential
ingredient to sell your product. You don't have the luxury of choosing
whether or not to sprinkle your documentation with one-liners. In fact, you
are often required to put them in by the standards and style guides of the
series for which you are writing. The Dummies and Idiots guides are only the
most obvious examples.
And Plato, as an exercise in point, I really find the duck pales in
comparison to the mouse as an object of humor. Thanks, however, for the
topic thread.
