athloi's Journal: Technical writers, remember this well

One thing that I return to time and again when explaining technical writing to potential employers is the dangerous concept that people do not sit down and read manuals, for the most part.

We pick up the new gadget, try a few things, talk to other people about it, and try to get some sense of a singular principle which explains how it works. We play with it. When we get stuck, with the boss yelling down our shirts, we dash for the manual and look up a likely keyword or two.

Assuming guaranteed readership