Re:Just Simply – Stop saying how simple things are in our docs
by ulizzle on Sunday April 30, 2023 @07:35PM
(#35767548)
If you completely disagree, keep in mind “completely” is also an adverb.
Some frameworks sell simplicity (setup, maintenance) as a feature, so that adverb would be fitting.
But this is just infantilizing and a lot of people (maybe a universal trait) are annoyed by that.
Re:Just Simply – Stop saying how simple things are in our docs
by spondylosaurus on Sunday April 30, 2023 @07:54PM
(#35767655)
What? Adverbs are fine; there's no industry-wide dictum against adverbs.
I think you might be mad at something different than the principles I'm outlining here. These are accepted standards of technical documentation.
Re:Just Simply – Stop saying how simple things are in our docs
by ulizzle on Monday May 01, 2023 @12:56AM
(#35769229)
This is basic English grammar, something you should have learned in grade school.
Re:Just Simply – Stop saying how simple things are in our docs
by spondylosaurus on Monday May 01, 2023 @01:05AM
(#35769280)
Your grade school taught you that adverbs are a form of virtue signaling?
Re:Just Simply – Stop saying how simple things are in our docs
by ulizzle on Monday May 01, 2023 @01:25AM
(#35769379)
No one will fall apart and burst into tears because of an adverb they read in the mountain of documentation we have to read to get the job done.
Navel-gazing of the highest order.
Re:Just Simply – Stop saying how simple things are in our docs
by spondylosaurus on Monday May 01, 2023 @04:18AM
(#35770276)
You lost me there again, my friend. Technical writing stylebooks draw no correlation between adverbs and nervous breakdowns. You seem to be tilting at an entirely different windmill than the one I'm tending to.
Re:Just Simply – Stop saying how simple things are in our docs
by TheCoelacanth on Monday May 01, 2023 @11:34AM
(#35774293)
That's fine, but put your marketing copy in your marketing, not in your docs.
- Don't make unsubstantiated claims about your product.
- Don't discuss upcoming features or refer to existing features as "new" outside of announcements/release notes.
- Don't make promises about uptime or other things that belong in an SLA—this can have nasty legal implications down the line.
- Don't waste time with marketing-speak; your reader is either already using your product or is on the verge of using your product (and consulting the quality of your docs before they decide to move forward).
- Don't use ambiguous language or cultural idioms that may confuse ESL readers.
- Don't preface instructions with how easy it is to do something; every reader has a different level of experience and background knowledge. Also, if you say that your product is easy to use and then it actually isn't, it makes you look like an idiot. Or disingenuous. Or both.