Re: Chattiness in manuals
Sarah Bouchier asked:
> How would you react to a manual that said, "The installation of this
> component may take several minutes. This would be a good time to go and
> get a cup of tea"?
>
> (Other than concluding that the author had run mad and needed to be
> fitted with a snazzy waistcoat with long sleeves, of course)
It depends. In some cases, that would be really inappropriate. But I can
imagine a scenario in which the manual was for a "laid-back", "cool"
product, and was deliberately designed to be friendly and whimsical in
order to fit into the atmosphere - the "branding" - that the product's
owners wanted to create, and then it would be fine. There's no rule
that says user assistance information must always be formal.
Scot Hacker wrote The BeOS Bible, and it was a primer for this sort of
writing. It was for a niche OS favored by hobbyists, it was
informative, but it was also casual. He wrote in plain English and
had a genuine gift for introducing complex technical concepts and
making them self-apparent with a little explanation. He feels like
like a tech-savvy older brother or mentor, giving you the straight
dope without cutting corners and without formality.
I keep The BeOS Bible on my bookshelf to this day to remind myself
what great, casual tech writing can look like in the right environment
and in the right hands.
Hacker's approach works great in some environments, but would not fly,
say, in a medical devices company. As always, know your audience.
There are places where it's possible (even desireable) to loosen up a
bit as long as one doesn't get too cutesy.
--
John Cook
Technical Writer / Help Author
john dot cook at gmail dot com
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References:
Chattiness in manuals: From: Sarah Bouchier
Re: Chattiness in manuals: From: David Farbey
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