Re: Meaning of "getting started"

["Pedro de Medeiros" <pedrovmm+lists gmail com>]

On Fri, Oct 31, 2008 at 15:50, Pedro de Medeiros
<pedrovmm+lists gmail com> wrote:
> On Fri, Oct 31, 2008 at 15:07, Shaun McCance <shaunm gnome org> wrote:
>> On Fri, 2008-10-31 at 13:11 +0000, Matthew Paul Thomas wrote:
>>> Leonardo Fontenelle wrote on 29/10/08 00:50:
>>> >
>>> > http://library.gnome.org/devel/gdp-style-guide/stable/infodesign-2.html.en
>>> >
>>> > What's the difference between "introduction" and "getting started"?
>>> >...
>>>
>>> "Getting started" probably is helpful, "Introduction" probably isn't. ;-)
>>
>> If we're talking about documentation in general, I'd say
>> it depends on what you're writing.  "Introduction" should
>> be used to introduce concepts and terminology.  This is,
>> I suspect, most useful in developer documentation.  But
>> it could be useful as a subsection title for more complex
>> applications.  For instance, a section on charting for a
>> spreadsheet manual might be served well by an introduction.
>>
>> Now, if we're talking about the first section of a typical
>> application help manual, then we definitely want "Getting
>> Started".  And not just the title.  A "Getting Started"
>> section should be a real hands-on tutorial to how to use
>> the application.
>>
>> If you have a "Getting Started" section that reads like
>> the following, you've done something wrong.
>>
>>  Beanstalk is an application for collecting and counting
>>  magic beans.  Beanstalk is free software under the GPL.
>>  Beanstalk uses [boring list of libraries users really
>>  do not care about].  Beanstalk can be used to [list of
>>  things you can do, without telling you how to do any of
>>  them].  In the future, [OK, stop.  Documentation is not
>>  the right place for your roadmap.  Ever.  Seriously.]
>
>
> Well, it seems that "introduction" should never be
> replaced by "getting started", but I think the opposite
> doesn't look so bad (i.e., replacing "getting started"
> by "introduction").


I take it back. I opened some manuals in yelp and I see
now that they are very different. Besides, a manual may
contain both sections (Totem for instance).


Pedro