Do You Read 'Instruction Manuals' Or Just 'Play'?

[Lee]

Hehe do any of you folks not bother with instruction manuals when it comes to new things you may own, tv sets, vcrs, cell phones, scripts, etc, etc?

I actually find for the most part reading an instruction manual confuses the hell out of me whilst if i just 'play' with something i typically end up getting things setup almost right away.

Is this just a 'guy' thing?

So do you folks read the instructions you get with things or just go at it on your own?

Regards,

Lee

[MiamiB]

that if the device is designed well then it should be intuitive to get started with and I jump right in without reading the manual.

Once I can do something with it then I read the manual to get to all of the features of the device.

[Jasun]

Just Play.

It's how I learn all my software and all my hardware and even how I do things when setting up sites.... Who wants to follow instructions?

[chadknowslaw]

Hell I didn't even read your entire post.

I plug in and start pushing buttons until something works. If all else fails, read the manual.

[Maryflixxx]

I'm not a guy and I don't read instruction manuals either. Mostly they are confusing, try to cover off multiple models or versions in the same book so you end up getting something like this:

To turn on your Widget 3000 simply press the power button located on the rear of the unit. Unless you have the Widget 3000A1 in which case said power button will be located on the bottom and you should also....

Crazy!!

As someone who has written her fair share of instructions, I know how hard it can be to explain simply and with as few words as possible. The trick is to not write by committee and KISS.

[chadknowslaw]

Mary, you can turn me on by touching anywhere~


:develish:

[Maryflixxx]

I'll bet you say that to all the girls!

[Lee]

As someone who has written her fair share of instructions, I know how hard it can be to explain simply and with as few words as possible. The trick is to not write by committee and KISS.

Haha that is so true, when i was working on the manual for EvidenceWipe you wouldnt beleive how hard it was to KISS.

I think i went through about 5 revisions of the manual and finally ended up with something that i think is pretty simple to understand for even the most inept PC user... http://manual.evidencewipe.com

Regards,

Lee

[SluggerJ]

Just push a button... Everyday electronics are all pretty similar, so there isn't much new to learn.

But then I build my own desktop computers without reading anything either.

There are some very occasional specifics that require a glimpse at the manual, like how to train a universal remote to work with the different components. But otherwise the manual just goes into the junk drawer.

[attis]

I just play around and if I really can't figger out something after a while, I start searching where the fucking manual is.

[maxx68]

I only read the manual if it's a new dildo or some other sex toy! they are getting so complicated these days and you can never be too careful!

I guess however I should have read the manual to my new self-propelled walk-behind mower...I turn the speed control the wrong way and ended up chasing behind the damn thing doing like 5 mph, burned a bunch of calories and mowed our 1/2 acre in record time, though.

[gaybucks_chip]

I'm sorta the opposite, most of the time I RTFM (computer term, 'read the fine manual') before I start using the item, especially if it's something complex like a high end camcorder.

Of course, I usually find that I need to play with the thing to figure everything out anyway, but sometimes reading the manual helps get a picture of how all the features are supposed to work together.