Hello Nicholas!

06 Feb 21, Nicholas Boel wrote to Kai Richter:

 KR>> The confusion was because the empty %rescan line without
 KR>> following echos did not produced an error answer. Teach the users
 KR>> to who to do this RTFM thing and you would avoid more confusion
 KR>> in the future.

 NB> *Users* should not have to RTFM for a server side program. They are
 NB> given the help file. That is the only RTFM they need. If the help file
 NB> (RTFM) confuses them, they ask the sysop. Right?

Right. In my understanding RTFM is a term for read the available information. The help file is the users areafix manual.

 NB> I'm only trying to avoid that confusion. Keeping a blank %RESCAN
 NB> command in the help file will make users think they can use it by
 NB> itself. So I was asking if the blank command was necessary.

Hell, RTFM! There is no blank %RESCAN line in the help file. That's why the problem you see is not there.

I do know that we have 2021 and users attention span ends somewhere at 140 characters. Teach users the RTFM thing is telling them that they shouldn't stop reading if the first word matches. The information of the "blank" RESCAN help file is this:

%RESCAN                      <- Rescan the areas subscribed below in the same
                                message to areafix

I'm a non native english reader and even i did understand what this subscribed below means. The information is there, all a user needs to do is read it.

 NB> Just because you don't see it as confusing, doesn't mean others that
 NB> don't actually setup, RTFM, and use the program on a daily basis
 NB> won't be.

I have that in my mind. Sometimes i'm a part of that group.

 NB> You must remember also, these *users* may have access to
 NB> multiple hosts and areafixes that do not act the same, or even use
 NB> the same commands.

I encounter those problems any time when i talk to the areafix. I have problems to remember what list, query and avail does. Two of them do the same. When i didn't use the areafix for months then my first thing is the %help command.

 NB> So the helpfile should be as specific as possible to make sure the
 NB> users understand and use the proper commands.

I think i wrote in an other mail that the information is in the helpfile but the layout let the user focus to another position. I'm not sure what the task of the helpfile is. I do use it as a reference. The file that explains the details should be the real user manual. I think that the husky suite doesn't have such verbose manual but the squish tosser had one for example.

No i don't want that the user have to read hundreds of pages. But two line of an help file shouldn't be too much to ask for.

Regards

Kai

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