--On Friday, March 09, 2001 10:40 AM -0500 hes@unity.ncsu.edu wrote:
> I do include that type of material in the alt.locksmithing FAQ. But
> perhaps there is a difference in readership experience which makes
> different practices reasonable. I would guess that the readers of a C
> FAQ would have more prior knowledge of netiquette that do our readers
> (who include a lot of aol and webtv newcomers.) At any rate, our
> readers often do need guidance in netiquette.
Yes, but do they frequently ask about netiquette?
Once again, the ancient divide between people who mulishly interpret
"Frequently Asked Questions" to mean "answers to real questions that real
people actually frequently ask," versus the folks who interpret it to mean
"Stuff we want to tell you, whether you ever ask about it or not."
You can always tell these two types of FAQs apart. The Neanderthal
throwback FAQ maintainers have horrible FAQs that look like
* * * AQX CONTROLLER FAQ * * *
1. Q: How do I recover when the AQX9000 crashes during boot?
A: Power off 20 seconds, insert disk 3...
2. Q: When will the new firmware for the AQX3000 be released?
A: According to AQXWare, not before November 2001...
3. Q: Why doesn't the AQX9050 recognize a second camera?
A: You need to close the B3 jumper and reinstall...
and so forth, boringly answering the stuff people are always asking, often
in most-asked-first order or some such nonsense.
The cool hip modern FAQs are obviously superior at a glance:
* * * CAMEL RAISING FAQ * * *
1. About This FAQ
A. All About the Authors of the FAQ
101. Who is Farkle Q. Pinklestein III?
102. How did he decide to create this FAQ?
103. What kind of word processor did he use?
B. All About the Text Formatting of the FAQ
201. Where is an HTML version of this FAQ?
202. Where is an RTF version?
203. A PDF version?
204. A zipfile containing JPEGs of scans of printouts
of this FAQ?
205. Why is each of these formats better/worse?
C. All About the Organization of this FAQ
301. How are the chapters laid out?
302. What is the numerical relationship between question
numbers and letters and subsections and chapters?
D. Other Crap We're Throwing In Here
401. What are your ultra-valuable opinions on Netiquette?
402. How bout them Mariners?
403. Got milk?
... ... ... etc etc etc ... ... ...
and if you are very lucky and didn't stop reading
after the first 35k of self-referential blather...
...
17. Oh Yeah, Camels
A. Actually Raising Camels
101. How do I raise a camel? .....
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