What do you call your examples?

[Ned Bedinger]

Sarah Bouchier wrote:

> I'm always worried in case I use the
> name of a /real/ company.

So right! And it isn't just a problem with company names, is it? I don't 
have a systematic solution for making up company names, but I wish 
someone would sponsor a complete set of example names, addresses, phone 
numbers, ...  I think manuals need realistic examples, and we need to be 
free of whatever liability we're exposed to when we create examples.

Once, on a contract for a networking company (a mini-Cisco sort of 
company), I was writing their documentation using one of their 
e-commerce virtual server addresses as the example for configuring and 
testing a router's internet connection. But when the testers read it, 
they insisted that any internet-routable IP address in the examples 
would become a target for countless pings, probes, masquerades, etc. 
They required any documentation to use only non-internet-routable 
addresses, which never would have occurred to me, since their products 
were internet routers.  Someone should donate an internet-routable IP 
address so that networking component documentation can be realistic.

I like Peter's idea of using a little wordplay to make names based on 
historical names. Phone numbers will always need the 555 exchange (not 
valid anywhere in the world).  Addresses are a vacant lot in my town, 
and business names, ewww, that one is sticky.  I tend to go with Acme 
Backscratcher Mfg.  Feel free to use it :-)


Ned Bedinger
doc at edwordsmith.com