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> Michelle Vina-Baltsas asked:
> I'm writing a passage that relates to Windows cookies. For those of you
> who've had to document anything related to cookie(s), did you indicate
> the term cookie? If not, what did you use instead?
First of all, who's your audience? Are you writing for experienced Web surfers or for people who think the Internet is a bunch of pipes? If you're writing for the latter, then by all means you should define the term.
Chris Blanc wrote:
> The first time you log in to the server, it will submit a digital
> token, or "cookie," to your browser which will be stored on your
> machine. Each time the server sees this cookie again, it will consider
> you to be logged in.
The problem I see with this is that if you're writing for people who don't know what a cookie is, there are a lot of concepts in this description that those people will not understand either--"log in to the server," "digital token," "machine."
> Pro TechWriter wrote:
> I like the "parcels of text" part of it, since that seems an easy
> concept for a non-technical person to understand.
Took me a moment to figure out what they meant by "parcels of text" probably because I'm in the land management racket. Darn dirty information mapping. :-) Seriously though, again, if we're describing cookies parts of that Wikipedia description seem too technical, particularly the use of "authenticating."
I'm basing these assessments on the assumption that if you've browsed the Web enough, you've encountered cookies and if you haven't browsed the Web enough then there are a host of other ideas that might need to be explained. This, of course, depends on the user and the goal of your documentation. If you're going to stick an explanation of cookies into the body of your text, then a simple one is probably best. Something like
cookie: File a Web site puts on your computer to track and maintain information about you, such as your login, the pages that you've visited, and items you've added to a shopping cart. Most cookies are harmless, some are beneficial, and some present a security risk.
I suppose you could also put a description of cookie in a glossary and then I think any of these definitions would be fine.....why? I don't know. It just feels like you can get away with slightly more technical information in the glossary.....within limits and reason and as long as it is appropriate to your target audience. ;-)
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Sean Hower - communications specialist http://www.sean-hower.com
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