RE: PDF vs. HTML

["MacDonald, Stephen" <Stephen.MacDonald@xxxxxxxxxx>]

I find the following a little over the top:

>Those in the documentation business who let this happen now have to live
>with the knowledge that they didn't stand up to the bean counters when it
>counted, thus they don't like to hear anyone remind them of their
>dereliction by bringing up the dirty little secret that printed books are
>vastly superior.  
>Dan Emory, Dan Emory & Associates

If you assume that what's best for the customer moves the "bean counters"
perhaps this makes sense, but I've never found it to be so.  Unless you can
show where printed books equal more profit, the bean counters will happily
show where printed books equal less profit.  They are only doing their job.

The right place to make this argument is with whomever is charged with
ensuring customer satisfaction, and you have to be ready to explain how
you're going to establish that the research results applied in your case
will generate the profit that offsets the cost of printed manuals.  It's
great to quote research but if we can't turn that into more business from
doing a better job for the customer, it doesn't matter.

On the other hand, if you want to argue that it's simply the right thing to
do for your customers, I'd say that's a worthy argument, but I doubt you'll
get a sympathetic ear from the guys in charge of the money.

Steve MacDonald
Aspect Communications, Inc.


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