Re: User-friendly documentation (was: "Button Gravity" and "WarningGravity")

[Peter Neilson <neilson -at- windstream -dot- net>]

McLauchlan, Kevin wrote:

> Anyone on an unfamiliar bus, going to an unfamiliar destination was
> doomed to hang about at the front of the bus, getting flack from driver
> and other passengers for not clearing the aisle and for occupying the
> "Pregnant women and old folks" seats, while desperately trying to see
> through the dirty windshield and discern the street signs and
> addresses... as they slid past in the murk.

Getting back to technical writing, the canonical story about the bus 
problem is the reply from the youngster who is asked which stop is the 
right one for Thudberry St. "Just watch when I get off, and get off 
three stops before that."

Taking a city bus is not always a one-pass algorithm.

Back when bus drivers and subway crew used microphones to announce stop, 
some of them were hopelessly inept on microphone technique. "Nghxx shhtp 
izz Kshnll Shhwqrr, Kshnll Shhwqrr." That comes from holding the mike 
inside the mouth.

It was easier to ride the trains to Kendall Square that had no 
announcements. Last time I was there it was a canned announcement more 
like "<BONG>Next stop is Kendall Square<BONG>" Sort of like those 
grating "emergency" tones on the radio that inform you that you have 
just heard an important announcement.
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