RFC 585 (rfc585) - Page 2 of 9
ARPANET users interest working group meeting
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
RFC 585 USING Working Group Meeting November 1973
Lee Richardson, USC-ISI
Ron Stoughton, UCSB
Jim White, NIC
Steve Wolf, UCLA-CCN
Joe Wyatt, Harvard
CATEGORIES OF CONCERN
The meeting began by attempting to create a relatively complete list
of topics directly relevant to users. The intention was to then
discuss some of these categories in detail. The categories of
concern to users are listed here along with a brief outline of the
discussion and recommendations associated with each category. Not
all topics were discussed fully due to time limitations. It was
acknowledged that some of the recommendations were quite extensive,
but that they should be mentioned even though their implementation
would be far off.
1. Online and Offline Documentation, Information Sharing, and
Consulting
a. There is a general need to upgrade the quality, technical
accuracy, timeliness, dissemination, and format of both online
and offline documentation.
b. Documentation should avoid "buzz" words (jargon), and should
follow easily understood syntax conventions, abbreviation
standards, reference citation rules, etc. However, there
probably cannot be a standard format for writing documentation.
c. Offline documentation should be well indexed, should contain a
good table-of-contents, and should be written in an easily
browsable format. Online documentation should be presented in
a browse mode with well-labeled categories of information as
well as a keyword search capability.
d. Documentation should be identified with date/author/version
information, particularly in large online documents, so that it
is easier to keep the most current version of a document and to
query the author, in the event of problems with the
documentation.
e. Network news needs to be gathered and intelligently distributed
to users (Network PR).
f. Users need several levels and styles of access to
documentation, whether online or offline, based upon their
experience, interests, and preferences.
Crocker, et al. Users