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Subject:Re[2]: online vs. paper From:Marilynne Smith <m -dot- smith182 -at- GENIE -dot- GEIS -dot- COM> Date:Sat, 8 Oct 1994 18:17:00 UTC
As a user, I expect both manual and online help. I don't want the writer to
decide this issue for me. I don't use online help a lot, mostly because:
1. Some help messages are trivial to the extreme, and those trivial
messages are more common on the first help screen I read
2. I can't flip around in it the way I can a book. (Yes I do know you can
flip around in help, but I tend to lose the thread.)
3. I usually can't find the information I want on one screen (all in one
place)
4. I tend to lose my feeling of "place" in online help.
5. When I print out help, I often get a half page of out-of-context
information that isn't particularly useful for keeping.
Unfortunately, I don't usually read a manual from cover to cover either, but
I usually am able to flip back and forth in the book until I have what I
need. A book will usually indicate to me that I need prior information.
For example, if the answer I want is in the middle of a chapter, I will
usually read the whole chapter.
I just haven't learned how to use help messages for that purpose. Is there
a book on how to read help? <grin>
Marilynne
m -dot- smith182 -at- genie -dot- geis -dot- com
