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Why RTFM is broken ( and how to use your FAQs )
Information FASTER please.
RTFM is easy... for YOU... RTFM is there because WE ( those already knowledgeable individuals) are lazy.
200 page manual vrs a paragraph
who would choose the prior? nobody.
Simply put:
RTFM assumes that the user knows the language of what they're after:
( whats a "method", how is an "array" different from a "variable", how do "variable pointers" differ from "variables" themselves )
If this was a solved problem Natural Language Processing wouldn't be the massive field that it is today.
In conclusion:
1) I need to work on giving better answers to those asking me questions
2) Keep a current FAQ ... but also realize you're the expert on the matter... and theres quite a bit of value in being the proxy between a user... and the information they're after.
- russell 15y agoSeveral decades ago I was a principal in a startup that produced a word processor. For the first release we included a brief manual that covered the features, less than 100 pages. Users liked it. For the second release we included a thorough 300 page manual. Users hated it. It was too short! They couldnt find anything they needed.
- delinquentme 15y agoWhat I'm getting at is that from the perspective of those "in the know": of course its obvious what someone is looking for. But especially in the case of user adoption: does it not make sense to make it as easy as possible for someone to fix the problem they have?
- russell 15y agoI agree. I used to be a read-the-manual-first type. Now I just want an overview, good help, a FAQ, an a lively user community.