On 2 Dec 97 at 22:17, Adam Bailey puddy cat purred:
> The problem is, people THINK that anything on the computer is too
> complicated for them. I've sat down with people and read over the
> instructions with them, and when they actually paid attention and read
> it with their brain turned on, they knew right away what to do. But
> many people just see a bunch of text with big words, and automatically
> figure they can't do whatever it is.
I'd second that. I find it very much the same when giving ppl
help over the 'phone: ppl are intimidated by computers, and scared of
instructions. If led gently, they can see what they are doing.
Most list instructions are much too verbose, and most are badly
written (IMO, the *worst* instructions are those that LISTSERV sends
in response to a "help" request: even I, as a list admin, systems
consultant, programmer etc, find them intimidating and unhelpful).
Like Chuq, I've analysed user errors on my lists, and am rewriting
most of my help files. One thing that really seems to help is a good
webpage, with an index at the start to key questions: "How do I leave
the list", "How do I switch email addresses" etc. Another thing, is
to answer the most important instructions at the start of the dcument:
e.g. how to leave the list.
But above all, instructions should be subject to the same test as
other public documents: put them out for review by the non-technical,
and listen carefully to their feedback. Best of all, take a few
non-techie people and sit down with them time at a time when they are
tired and see what they make of your instructions -- that's a very
good test, because a lot of folks read their list mail in the evenings,
when they are tired.
I know that Microsoft is not popular amongst techies (and I'll rant abt
them all day at the technical level), but their useability labs have
done wonders for the approachability of their software. We can all
learn from the methodology. It's far too easy to assume that because
it make sense to us, it makes sense to the users: if it doesn't, we
should be prepared to accept that this is often *our* fault: e.g. the
variety of unsubscribe mechanisms on difft lists really confuses folks,
so I'm setting up mechanisms to allow ppl to mail to
"listname-off@server" to unsub. People can understand that.
The final thing is that we should all remember what our lists are
*for*. Technical lists may be a difft ballgame, but my lists are
support lists, and I regard it as one of my key tasks as an admin to
give ppl the technical help needed to let them participate in the
group. That includes everything from helping with listserver commands
to finding anonymous mail accounts to choosing mail clients and
learning how to filter messages into folders so that the list doesn't
clog up their mailboxes. The few times I've growled at ppl, I
generally regret it. Most ppl really do want support lists to work
well, and they want to cause minimum disruption to other users and to
the admins. Help them through the difficulties, and the results will
be reflected in the list's success.
Best wishes,
Claire
--
Claire McNab -- Claire@siberia.demon.co.uk
Follow-Ups:
References:
|
|
