Do you RTFM?
Some are good, some are bad. What makes you choose to read or ignore them? How can they be improved? What do you like most/least?
Waste of time.
Side Score: 21
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That's what it's there for.
Side Score: 22
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I don't read the manual unless I come across something I can't figure out in five or ten minutes. Then I check the table of contents and try to skip straight to the part that will tell me how finish what I'm doing. Otherwise, manuals go too long on boring obvious stuff and not long enough on the complicated problems that people actually run into. Side: guides
3
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As a male, it is my inherent duty in life to never read a manual, a map, or any instruction booklet. I usually just sit down and try to put the thing together for a couple hours, curse the people that made it, and then walk away from the project and let someone else do it. That's much better than actually reading the manual. Side: NO WAY
I stubbornly refuse. I stake my manhood on my ability to put B wedge in Z slit without some book telling me what to do. Usually I walk away with my tail between my legs and something that doesn't remotely resemble what it's supposed to but screw it, it's the principle. Side: NO WAY
waste of fucking time!!!!! say if its a microwave or a tv ... WHO DOESNT KNOW HOW TO WORK A TELEVISION??!! then theres those times you get a table or cupboard, you need to put it together...the instructions are in some stupid language like arabic or swahili. WTF??!! from past experiences i have learnt that it is best to go with your gut feeling, or 'maternal instinct' (as some creepy old ladies call it...). do what you think is right and most of the time it can be rectified, and you try again. Side: Waste of time.
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Yes, but then, I'm a programmer. It's kind of required, given that I'm dealing not with custom-built GUI wizardry designed for maximum usability, but with languages for general-purpose unrestricted computation and tools for low-level manipulation designed for the technically-inclined. In fact, in things outside of my area of expertise, I often don't read the manual, finding I pick things up faster by trying than by reading. It's a bit funny: you'd think someone with expertise in a particular area would RTFM less there, but precisely because they tend to be dealing with more complex problems, it is just for such people that reading the manual is often most important. Side: That's what it's there for.
2
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I usually will use the manual to assemble the item if need be or if I have a problem in the setup. I do keep all the manuals of major electronics or such things in a drawer just in case. This reminds of a time when I did not read the manual and should have, I used our self-cleaning oven for the first time. I failed to read that you should ALWAYS scrape down the insides of your oven before using the self-clean option. Needless to say, I was on hold with Whirlpool while flames were shooting out the cracks and cevices of my oven. It had locked automatically until the cycle would finish and the oven cooled, so there I sat wringing my hands. I thought it was going to burn my house down for sure. ALWAYS READ THE MANUAL! Side: guides
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2
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Hey you guys, Tamissan is a technical writer (one of the many people that write manuals) so lets not say anything to piss off the moderator. OK? Now...., we bought a Samsung Blackjack II for my wife last night and she stayed up and read the manual and liked it very much. Side: TFM can save your butt so read it
LOL Joe.... I'm not worried about being pissed off. I was just hoping to get some insight from a random informal poll. I know most manuals, user guides, and instructions FAIL horribly. Fixing obnoxiously unintelligible instructions was something we had to do over and over and over in grad school. There is never a shortage for examples of what NOT to do. But despite the horrible manuals, some of us still read them. Maybe someone here has a suggestion on how to make the m suck less? Maybe folks'll just rant and rave and get it off their chests. Either way, I'm listening. Side: moderator is listening
2
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Reading the manual at the very least prevents the humiliation of a person hammering out an irate review of the product on their internet community of choice only to be told their problem could have been prevented by reading the first page of the manual. Side: That's what it's there for.
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