Re[2]: FrameMaker Required

[Joyce Flaherty <flahertj -at- SMTPGW -dot- LIEBERT -dot- COM>]

On 3-14-96 Robert Plamondon wrote:

<snip>
>> My experience is that few people read manuals until
>> they are completely stuck.  If they can muddle along,
>> they are content.  Thus, one can become an instant
>> expert by plowing through the manual set.  The payoff
>> is swift (in terms of productivity), and everyone
>> decides that you're a genius.  Many departments gain
>> a total reliance on the one "genius" who read the
>> manuals or went to classes and thus gained an understanding
>> of the product.  But high-end products like Interleaf
>> or FrameMaker cannot be used properly if there's only
>> one trained user in a department.  That one user is
>> invaluable, but the whole operation is still grossly
>> inefficient.
<snip>
==========
Robert,
For the record, I have never *plowed through* a manual or manual set
in my life.  I'm a voracious reader, but I read books that describe
processes conceptually.  I know what tasks an application pkg should
perform.  If the how-to is not obvious from the interface, then I go
to the book.  This approach works for me.  Furthermore and as a
result of this approach, I consider myself an expert on a handful
of tools.  I do not muddle along, unless I am using a tool so
infrequently that learning it is just not worth the bother (for
example, some Norton utilities).

Conclusion:  "All generalizations are false, including this one."
source--unknown.

joyce flaherty
flahertj -at- smtpgw -dot- liebert -dot- com