Re: dealing with no feedback

Dan Wallach (dwallach@cs.Princeton.EDU)
Sun, 17 Apr 1994 12:38:21 -0400

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>> I really wanted feedback on how my FAQ is being used -- what parts were
>> helpful, which were not, what it didn't answer. I included a plea requesting
>> feedback. I got good feedback from the draft I posted in November, but in the
>> four months since it went live I've received only a couple of messages.

>Similar experiences here... I've had some people mail me about the
>comp.graphics.gnuplot FAQ correcting or extending some points, mostly
>program developers ;-)

Hmm.. I've had lots of good and helpful feedback on the typing-injury FAQ.
About once a week, I get a letter thanking me for my FAQ's existence.
Much less often, somebody tells me about some new keyboard I need to
add to my list. Lately, I've had a few keyboard vendors approaching
me directly, as my listing is a significant part of their marketing (!).

Of course, I've gotten heaping loads of criticism. I was invited to
post my FAQ to a human-factors mailing list by the list moderator, and
started a flame-war over whether people should have to "wade through"
this massive missive in their e-mail. Early on, I had very harsh words
for one vendor's vaporous product, and he started giving my employers
a hard time, asking for my head on a platter! My 'general info' section
used to state the opinion, held by many professionals, that wrist rests
are bad news, and you shouldn't rest your wrists on anything at all,
desk, wrist pad, etc. After much general flammage, I wimped out that
statement to something along the lines of "it's better than most bad
habits, but ideally..."

I guess I've been doing my FAQ for almost two years now. I've rolled
with the punches, and I feel it's been a rewarding hobby. Now I'm just
waiting for Oprah Winfrey to give me a call...

"Could your computer be dangerous to your health?
Injured computer users and the keyboards that hurt
them, next on Oprah!"

My mom, the ultimate Oprah addict, would go nuts.

-- Dan Wallach "One of the most attractive features of a Connection dwallach@cs.princeton.edu Machine is the array of blinking lights on the faces Phone#: 609-452-8446 of its cabinet." -- CM Paris Ref. Manual, v6.0, p48.

(World-Wide-Web) http://www.cs.princeton.edu/grad/dwallach [PGP key available]

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