Paradigms

["heino" <saareh@cromwell-tools.co.uk>]

Terviste!

I've posted once to this in the past -3 years, just recently. The reply I
got was to the point, and welcome. I Make the point as I do not count myself
as a whiner. I would like to say something, as a contribution.

First, some supporting credentials.

I'm 47 this year. still feeling 12.
Not too bad for a webmaster?
I've a BA in fine art - yes, I'm a painter with a new hat!
I've an MA in human resource management. -I don't do it, cause I never
figured out what it meant. :(
I've also spent 15 years teaching literacy, art and latterly computing
skills in prisons in England.

I'm overwhelmed by what I see on the web.
Faq's I mean.
Documentation I mean.

Anyone read a good book lately? Like a manual?

Do you know what the word paradigm means?

The net has a massive paradigm opening up before it. Yes, that's my view.
Oh. Should I explain? Maybe I'll write a faq! No, better still, I'll add a
few hyper-links to this, and all will be clear?

Bull. Isn't it.

I, like most of you, must be staggered on a daily basis, on the quality of
useable stuff on lists like this.  The quality of code, the abundance of it,
the time taken to explain how to install, debug and make applicable etc. Yet
a humble car manual can get you back on the road in no time.

I once had a friend in London, who having fallen on hard times, stumbled on
a great wheeze. He was sleeping rough in the underground system, when early
one morning, a visitor to this country, clearly lost, asked for directions.
Which platform for the next tube etc. He morosely waved his hand around and
muttered some daft scheme to get rid of this bloke. Imagine his surprise,
when the man drew out a ten pound note and said thankyou! All through that
summer, whippet traveled the tube picking out lost visitors, and helping
them. Sometimes he got paid, sometimes not. The end of the summer he was out
of London, and back on his feet. The point being, the underground maps show
what's there, but a friend only needs to say, go there, do this and your
away. A good index does just that. Isn't it?

I hate hyperlinks. The most vaulted, glorified, deified fantastic most
glorious useful thing since papyrus was pulped out in shedfulls, is becoming
a waste of time. When applied to faqs, manuals and how-to's.

I know there's a bevy of volunteers writing support for minivend, please, is
it too much to ask that they look at how a book is put together? There is so
much verbiage out there on the net, where someone writes something, and adds
links, thinking the link is really useful to someone. A well thought out
index can banish both whiners and simplistic questions at a stroke. I wish I
could prove it - this is just my bag I'm sharing - once only.

A good index, and Mike can stick to doing what his great at, and that which
we all hope he will do into the future. He clearly wants to, so please? a
really well thought out index? Task oriented?

Oh well..

yours in what passes for reality...


heino