TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Use of Periods in Phone Numbers? From:Eric Haddock <eric -at- ENGAGENET -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 25 Sep 1996 13:08:17 -0500
>Can the editor back up the justification with
>research or usability testing?
>This would require lots of $$$--is it worth it? For a
>phone number?
A couple things came to mind: it's just a phone number, not something
like deciding to print yellow text on a dark green background. Second, if
useability testing was required to justify every design
element/practice/decision for _newsletters_ then all they would all look the
same--boring.
We have to take risks and do some experimentation somewhere. Newsletters
are a great medium for that because they're so quick and easy to produce
(relative to magazines and manuals). You can afford to try something new and
see what the reaction is because the risk is so low. It's the lowest I can
think of.