Words to avoid?

[Matthew Paul Thomas]

On Jul 7, 2006, at 9:53 AM, Dan McGarry wrote in ubuntu-doc@:
> ...
> An example: I've seen comments here suggesting that people know how to 
> turn things on, so we don't need to specify the mechanics of a 
> particular action. This in the context of checkboxes, etc. My 
> experience is that this is not the case.
>
> First-time computer users - especially those who have not had the 
> benefit of a formal, western-style education - often do not realise 
> that lists can scroll, or what checkboxes are for.
> ...

That's certainly true, but that leaves open the issue of where to teach 
those things. Help is apparently used mostly by experts to begin with. 
<http://blogs.msdn.com/jensenh/archive/2005/11/29/497861.aspx> And if 
the help pages on how to change your screensaver, how to share your 
music collection, how to configure Ethernet connections, and so on, all 
included explanations of how to use checkboxes and scrollbars and so 
on, that would get pretty tiring pretty quickly. (That's what I meant 
by "we can assume people know how to use checkboxes" -- we can assume 
they know it by the time they get to the help for some other topic.)

A better way to teach things like that, though it probably won't be 
developed by anyone unless they're paid to do it (a Summer of Code 
project, perhaps?), would be an "Ubuntu Basics" interactive tutorial -- 
a program that coaches you in how to use a mouse (including common 
graphical controls), how to use windows, how to use the file manager, 
how to edit text, and so on.

Cheers
-- 
Matthew Paul Thomas
http://mpt.net.nz/