

Why RTFM is broken ( and how to use your FAQs ) - delinquentme

Information FASTER please.<p>RTFM is easy... for YOU... RTFM is there because WE ( those already knowledgeable individuals) are lazy.<p>200 page manual vrs a paragraph 
who would choose the prior? nobody.<p>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 )<p>If this was a solved problem Natural Language Processing wouldn't be the massive field that it is today.<p>In conclusion:<p>1) I need to work on giving better answers to those asking me questions<p>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
Several 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
What 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
I 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.

