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Subject:Re: Chattiness in manuals From:Beth Agnew <beth -dot- agnew -at- senecac -dot- on -dot- ca> Date:Tue, 17 Oct 2006 14:49:20 -0400
A job candidate once presented a portfolio that included a manual where
all the examples were about a Snark Factory and its production of
snarks. The manual explained how to use the software to manage snark
production. It was such a turnoff that it became difficult to evaluate
that candidate objectively. The cutesy, cloying quality of the examples
completely obscured any solid information that the manual contained. I
know it's not entirely the writer's fault; /somebody /had to approve
that, and may even have mandated it. As a user, if I had to suffer
through that to use the product, I would be seriously rethinking my
purchase.
What seems chatty and fun to us when we write it can be an insult to the
intelligence of the user. As always, know your audience and when in
doubt, stick to the proven "just the facts, Jack" writing style.
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