Re: Grimoires and Magic

[Barb Ostapina <Barb -dot- Ostapina -at- METROMAIL -dot- COM>]

Bruce Byfield wrote:

<<Still,I can't help wondering:

--how widespread is magical thinking? To what extent should it be taken
into account when writing manuals? Should it be opposed, as I'm inclined
to do?

--what do people think about the pros and cons of grimoires, as opposed
to contextual manuals?

Any comments?>>


I can certainly see both sides of this issue. I was going to cast my vote
for context when I saw Susan Staggs comments about starting the car. It's
true, I too don't know why the thing starts and it doesn't keep me from
getting around town. But I also feel that if something didn't go right
(like it didn't start one day), I would want to have some ideas about
what to try next.

I also believe that it's useful to users to have context that helps them
use the  software more effectively in their jobs. I see it kind of like
this listserv -- seeing other points of view about how to do something, or
how it can be used in a variety of contexts makes me that much more able to
adapt to new situations. Of course, it can be said that some users would
prefer to stay out of new situations and could care less if they're
equipped for them.

So, overall, I'm still voting for context, but perhaps it comes down to how
it's presented. If magic and context are segmented in a way that lets users
pick and choose their preference, so much the better.

Thanks for the thread, Bruce.
--B
barb -dot- ostapina -at- metromail -dot- com

PS I apologize if parts of this note display funny. I can't figure out why
sometimes what I write line wraps, and sometimes it doesn't and I  have to
manually add line breaks :-\