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Subject:RE: The 'user' in User Manual From:"Lauren" <lt34 -at- csus -dot- edu> To:"'Cardimon,Craig'" <ccardimon -at- M-S-G -dot- com>, "'Techwr-l'" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Fri, 2 Feb 2007 12:51:50 -0800
OMG! I read the manual for Test Director and nearly every sentence included
the word "you." That was a most annoying read indeed. "You" has a tendency
to get a little bossy. Like "you will do what I say." People do not like
to be told what to do as though they have to do that and "you" has that
connotation. I take a neutral stance in my writing and avoid 1st ("I"), 2nd
("you"), and 3rd ("user") person voices. Some writers say that they have a
hard time maintaining neutrality, but I was taught 14 years ago when I
studied Technical Writing in college, that neutral is best and I maintain a
neutral voice in user manuals.
How about a simple save file process as an example of the 4 stances?
1st - I click "File," "Save As," and choose a name for the file when I want
to save the file.
2nd - You need to click "File," "Save As," and choose a name for the file
when you want to save the file.
3rd - The user needs to click "File," "Save As," and choose a name for the
file when he or she wants to save the file.
Neutral - Click "File," "Save As," and choose a name for the file to save
the file.
Notice that the neutral stance uses fewer words. What ever stance you
choose, as you noticed, you should be consistent. Now this message uses a
conversational tone so there is a mix of stances, otherwise I would say
"choose and maintain a consistent stance."
Lauren
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+lt34=csus -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+lt34=csus -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of
Cardimon,Craig
Sent: Friday, February 02, 2007 11:58 AM
To: Techwr-l
Subject: The 'user' in User Manual
Hello, folks,
When you all are working on user manuals, what viewpoint do you most often
take? Should I:
(1) Remove all occurrences of "user" and "you" from the manual, and
recast all sentences.
(2) Take a "user"-centric stance.
(3) Take a "you"-centric stance.
Whatever I do, I need to be consistent throughout. How say ye?
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Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
printed documentation. Features include single source authoring, team authoring,
Web-based technology, and PDF output. http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
Now shipping: Help & Manual 4 with RoboHelp(r) import! New editor,
full Unicode support. Create help files, web-based help and PDF in up
to 106 languages with Help & Manual: http://www.helpandmanual.com
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