[Libreoffice-qa] The term "Online Help" (was: Use of abbreviations in this ML)

[Jean Weber]

On Sun, Jan 12, 2014 at 10:31 PM, Marc Paré <marc at marcpare.com> wrote:
> Le 2014-01-11 08:05, Christian Lohmaier a écrit :
>>
>> Hi Pedro, *,
>>
>> Am 11.01.2014 12:50 schrieb "Pedro" <pedlino at gmail.com
>> <mailto:pedlino at gmail.com>>:
>>  >
>>  > [abbreviations or the term Online Help] ...
>> So let's hear some suggestions. I assume everyone will understand which
>> one is meant when they read the term "Offline Help" in isolation. If you
>> disagree, please also suggest a different term for that.
>>
>> Ciao
>> Christian
>>
>
> I have been following this discussion and the only worry I have is that the
> doc team is not included on it. IMO, Jean should be aware of this discussion
> as the acronyms and any potential changes may have an effect on the various
> documentation terminology that is being used in our docs.
>
> It would be nice if any changes were coordinated with all affected groups.
>
> From my point of view OLH (Online Help), and, from a vernacular point of
> view for most users, would mean that once you choose that particular
> link/menu item, that you would be sent "online" on the internet for the help
> files. The OLH menu link, when viewed in context in any particular software
> package, usually means to a user that she/he will be taken to help files for
> that particular software available on the internet.
>
> IMO, if we would want to make it clearer that the help files are NOT online,
> then another name/acronym should be created to properly describe the menu
> choice. Making as short, descriptive, obvious and as literal as possible,
> IMO, should be our primary goal; this will ensure that all competency levels
> of users (whether newbies or knowledgeable users) are clear as to the menu
> choice they are making. Perhaps just labelling "Help Documents" would be
> sufficient enough. The fact that there is no "online" will be obvious enough
> that the user is not being sent online for help docs and that the local
> files are always accessible to the user.


I've been following this thread, as it relates to a (minor) concern
that I've had for some time. (My computer use goes back far enough
that to me, "online" means "on the computer" (not "on the Internet)
versus in a book; but I'm well aware that the term means something
different these days, especially to younger users. So, yes, we need a
better one; and yes, the term needs to be the same in the user guides
as it is in the program and elsewhere.

I haven't done any research to see what might be a common term these
days, so I don't immediately have a suggestion. I'll get back to you
later today when I've had a chance to consider this a bit more.

--Jean