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Subject:Re: Reasons for online From:Glen Accardo <glen -at- SOFTINT -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 20 Dec 1994 15:16:28 -0600
> > And remember, all the good indexes
> > in the world won't help anyone who doesn't know what he's looking for.
> But Glen, that's the point. We want to index things that are *not*
> in the text. For instance, in my latest on-line help system, we have
> topics referring to "building a project". For the new user, they may
> think of "building a project" as entering, starting, creating, or making
> a new project. Not all of these words can be found in the text.
> Only a carefully crafted index can answer such a need.
I disagree completely. Only a stupid person would fail to find the answer.
I would love to see some substantial (worthy of indexing) text about building
a project which never uses the words "build" or "project." If the text is
about "creating" a project, I just don't see the need for someone to waste
the amount of time necessary to index everything similar to "create." It is
up to the searcher to find, and we as writers can help, but we cannot handle
the case of unmotivated idiots. My advise is -- don't bother.
If I can't find something by looking at every word -- what I want ain't there.
------------
glen accardo glen -at- softint -dot- com
Software Interfaces, Inc. (713) 492-0707 x122
Houston, TX 77084
