Re: Help!

[antgel <antony@antgel.co.uk>]

Stephen R Laniel wrote:
> On Tue, Sep 06, 2005 at 06:43:16PM +0100, Jon Dowland wrote:
> 
>>We've had a lot of these queries recently. Does that suggest the
>>installation process needs to be adjusted slightly, to combat the
>>assumption a GUI environment is installed by default? Or should we be
>>pushing for people to read the installation docs before going ahead with
>>it?
> 
> 
> I don't think people should ever have to read documents in
> order to use a product. Requiring people to read the docs
> suggests that the product itself isn't designed well enough
> that it explains its own usage.

So?  Why should a product have to explain it's own usage?

> And it allows programmers
> the luxury of being lazy in their UI design. We should
> assume that people won't read the docs, and build our
> products with that assumption in mind.

Fine in theory.  In practice, any product that is easy enough to use
without reading documentation is not likely to provide an optimally
efficient way to accomplish the task at hand.  You can't please all of
the people all of the time.

The most efficient way is to compromise and learn to think like the
machine a little.