From: ross@cbmvax.commodore.com (Ross Hippely - Manuals)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc
Subject: Re: Commodity question
Date: 9 Jan 93 23:44:54 GMT
Reply-To: ross@cbmvax.commodore.com (Ross Hippely - Manuals)
Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.misc
Distribution: world
Organization: Commodore, West Chester, PA
Keywords: manuals documentation 2.04
Summary: A point to consider

In article <crystal.726524912@glia> crystal@glia.biostr.washington.edu (Crystal) writes:
>In <38416@cbmvax.commodore.com> ross@cbmvax.commodore.com (Ross Hippely - Manuals) writes:

[...discussion of undocumented disk items in C= disks, of which I said:]

>>...in general, stuff that is undocumented should be left alone.
>
>If it is undocumented, then it shouldn't even be included.  

Um, I believe you mean, "If it is included, it should be documented." :-)

>                                                            Not everyone who
>buys a computer is programming whiz.  Nor do they understand not to play with
>things that are undocumented.  

True.  Adding an explicit statement to the effect that undocumented stuff
should be left alone is probably a good idea for future C= manuals.

The other option, more troublesome but not out of the question, would be to 
include docs of every little bit, even if it's just to say "This is related 
to so-and-so and you should leave it alone."  Is this what you would recommend?

>                              If it's high-level developmental stuff, then it
>should not be left out on the table, unattended, where the baby can get 
>into it...

Hmm, I guess we've never looked at our clientele as babies... :-)

>>It's unlikely you'll get a virus on an original disk from Commodore.
>
>Uh...I didn't KNOW it came from a Commodore disk.  All I knew was that I had
>some strange program in my directory with a rather ominous sounding name that
>*I* did not put there.  

[Crystal elaborates on her alarm at discovering Enforcer on her HD]

>And with no docs to support what
>I knew *I* hadn't put on my disk, what's a newbie to think? 
>
>So, why didn't I LOOK on the original system disk?  

I was just going to say...

>                                                    Because there were posts
>saying that Enforcer was on an FTP site, and one saying that it was NOT part
>of the system software.  

And you believed them?  Rather than just pop in the disks?

>So, if it was commercial, from C=, why would it be
>on an FTP site?  

Surely you know that there is software that is from Commodore, yet could be
acquired from other sources?  E.g. amigaguide.library, the Installer, and of
course programming tools like Enforcer...

>Hence, I had to assume it had arrived on my HD by suspicious
>means.

An assumption so questionably grounded, and so easily checked, to me
suggests an alarmist response.


Still, I am only quibbling.  Your basic point is valid.  I'll look into how
we could improve our docs to take account of possible newbie reaction to 
unexplained disk contents.

>Crystal
>  ;>

-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ross Hippely:                                               Technical Writer
employed by, not speaking for:              Commodore Business Machines Inc.