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[LUG] Incomplete documentation: was Re: [LUG] Filename / DirectoryNames with Spaces



On Thu, 2004-06-17 at 15:02, Mark Evans wrote:

To the point where it is hard to come up with examples where this is not 
the case. Especially with natural languages.


Hi All,

To me as a relative newbie to Linux, the issue comes down to incomplete
documentation (on the part of the UT2003 installer not Linux).  Since
the underlying OS accepts spaces in filenames (I won't enter the debate
on whether that is a good thing or not) then it is natural for the user
to expect an installer specifically designed for that OS to follow the
same rules.  IMHO, any exceptions ought to have been highlighted by the
installer's creator.  Also specific instructions, such as "you have to
be root user to install this game" should have been noted.  Assuming
knowledge of the end-user is always a bad idea, and back when I did
A-Level 15 years ago (yes I am that old guys!) we were always taught to
assume NO knowledge when writing documentation.

Gamers for a very large proportion of the Windows fraternity.  As it
happens I am not a hardcore gamer, I just have this one and wanted to
see how it compared to an earlier Windows install of the same game.  By
and large (with apologies to any gamers reading this) the game
fraternity tend to be those who want to slap in a CD, follow a couple of
prompts on screen, and then start blasting away.  They don't want to get
bogged down (as they will see it) in a complex install procedure.

That being the case, if Linux wants to attract huge numbers of converts
to the fold, three things need to happen:

1.  More Windows games need their Linux alternatives.
2.  Linux needs to be able to handle disk swapping much better that at
present.  That unmounting/mounting business, while easy enough to me
once I knew about it, would dissuade a less experienced PC user back to
Windows right away.
3.  Any idiosyncrasies, such as "no spaces in foldernames" need to be
specifically stated.

Kind regards,

Julian


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