[1077] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
Re: Casual Instructions
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (NAME 'Ann Golubowski')
Thu Aug 27 18:47:30 1992
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 16:43:29 CDT
Reply-To: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <PACS-L%UHUPVM1.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu>
From: NAME 'Ann Golubowski' <GOLUBAN@Vax2.Concordia.CA>
To: Multiple recipients of list PACS-L <PACS-L%UHUPVM1.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu>
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
orry, my first attempt at joining an e-mail discussion has
misfired! Hope this works this time.
I may have missed the beginning of this conversation, so please
excuse me if I seem to miss the point. But doesn't it depend on
the material and the user? What is suitable for a computer-phobic
undergraduate may not be for a serious graduate student or
researcher. While the former may just want to know "which button
to push" to get results, the other may feel frustrated at not
having the control that more in-depth knowledge brings, while not
being satisfied with having to rediscover every quirk in the
system on their own through trial-and-error (though some of that
is obviously necessary.) Clear documentation of what is not
readily apparent from help screens should be available to those
who want it, along with personalized help.
