RE: Bad Documentation and Linux

["Jon Leer" <jleer -at- leertech -dot- net>]

Let's face. The only reason for documentation is because customers demand
it. Managers want it to be accurate, but they certainly could care less how
it gets done, and will never look at it themselves.

Jon Leer
Leer Technical Communications
Bedford, NH
603-315-4029
jleer -at- leertech -dot- net
http://www.leertech.net
 
Technical and Business Communication Consulting:
Technical - Manuals to Online Help
Business - Marketing Communication
Content Management - Knowledge Base Development and User Experience
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+jleer=leertech -dot- net -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com 
> [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+jleer=leertech -dot- net -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
] On Behalf Of Robert Lauriston
> Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 2:59 PM
> To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: Re: Bad Documentation and Linux
> 
> She didn't say the stuff she whipped out in two days was 
> good, to the contrary:
> 
> "The only time I've been paid to do GOOD documentation was 
> when it was going to be used to wow investors during the 
> dot-com boom," Slashdot blogger Barbara Hudson told 
> LinuxInsider. "Bosses nowadays don't seem to get that good 
> documentation saves money."
> 
> Even worse, "when you document something, they don't even 
> read it, even though they should," Hudson added.
> 
> Case in point: "Last year I spent two days doing 'Complete 
> Documentation -- everything -- and it needs to be ready by Thursday'
> of the system we were working on," she explained. "123 pages 
> worth, table of contents, footnotes, index, overview, the whole bit."
> 
> It was a week's worth of work done in two days, Hudson noted, 
> but the result never got read.
> 
> "Why? 'Oh, it's too big,'" she recounted.
> 
> On Fri, Dec 4, 2009 at 10:01 AM, Dana Worley 
> <dana -at- campbellsci -dot- com> wrote:
> > Some interesting comments about Linux documentation (or 
> lack thereof). 
> > "Is Bad Documentation Derailing Linux?"
> >
> > http://www.technewsworld.com/story/68798.html?wlc=1259948629
> >
> > I'm amused by the "they don't even read it" comments. The 
> person says 
> > she was paid to create GOOD documentation (her caps, not 
> mine) -- 123 
> > pages in two days. I bet my idea of GOOD and her idea of GOOD are 
> > vastly different. I'd probably not read the document either 
> after the 
> > first few pages ;)
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Are you looking for one documentation tool that does it all? Author, 
build, test, and publish your Help files with just one easy-to-use tool.
Try the latest Doc-To-Help 2009 v3 risk-free for 30-days at:
http://www.doctohelp.com/ 

Help & Manual 5: The all-in-one help authoring tool. True single- sourcing -- 
generate 8 different formats and as many different versions as you need 
from just one project. Fast and intuitive.  http://www.helpandmanual.com/

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