Re: [NTLK] Special treatment for newbies?

From: Victor Rehorst (victor_at_newtontalk.net)
Date: Mon Mar 24 2003 - 13:54:40 PST


Quoting "Peter H. Coffin" <hellsop_at_ninehells.com>:

> Even a big recommendation that a new subscriber read the entire FAQ on
> chuma, as listed in the blurb on the bottom of *every* NTLK message
> would answer the vast majority of the newbie questions. That's what I
> started with, and I ended up knowing more about a platform that I didn't
> even own a unit of (prior to purchasing anything) at the time, than
> some palm owners who'd owned their units for a couple of years did about
> their own. It's an amazingly complete overview.

It would be nice to be able to make people do things like this... but IMHO
most people are looking for the quick, specific answer. I personally love
poring over documentation (I've read the NEC service manual for my Ultralite
DOS portable, for example) but most people hate it. An example I like to use
is this (nouns intentionally silly):

Say you've just purchased the latest whiz-bang widget and want to start using
it ASAP to organize your frim-fram collection. But when you press the
actuator doohickey, nothing happens. Along with your whiz-bang you got two
other things: a manual, and a slip of paper with a toll-free phone support
number. Do you read the manual first, or call the number?

My opinion is that most (80%) of people with an average amount of technical
experience will call the number before opening the manual.

-- 
Victor Rehorst - victor_at_newtontalk.net - chuma_at_chuma.org
NewtonTalk list administrator - http://www.newtontalk.net
Will the last person to leave the platform please turn off the backlight?
-- 
This is the NewtonTalk list - http://www.newtontalk.net/ for all inquiries
List FAQ/Etiquette/Terms: http://www.newtontalk.net/faq.html
Official Newton FAQ: http://www.chuma.org/newton/faq/


This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Mon Mar 24 2003 - 15:00:01 PST