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Posted by David Sherman on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 16:22:24 :
In Reply to: Re: matt matt matt matt posted by MikeyStone, idaho on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 11:28:22 :
Here's what's wrong with most modern manuals:
1) They're written in 17 different languages and even after you find the English section, it's mostly cartoons and very short words. Actual information content is minimal at best.
2) Every other paragraph begins with "WARNING!", "DANGER!" or "CAUTION!". They might was well just do away with the whole manual and include one multi-lingual card that says "WARNING! DO NOT USE THIS MACHINE!"
3) There's nothing about how to repair anything more advanced than changing the bit/blade/chain and putting fuel/oil/electricity into it.
4) If it's one of the rare manuals that actually includes an assembly drawing and parts call-out, the parts aren't available anyway, so why do they bother?
5) Disassembly voids the warranty, no user-serviceable parts inside, etc.
All in all, modern manuals have so little useful information in them that it usually is better to just ask somebody who might have actually worked on the thing.
I understand where you're coming from as a programmer, but programming manuals are still decent, probably because they only have to be written in one language, and it's pretty hard to cut, poison, or electrocute yourself with software. Tool manuals are a whole different thing.
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