The GW Micro blog has been discontinued. For instant updates on GW Micro products and events, follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook.
What to expect from our gw-info email list
by Doug on Tuesday, March 27 2007I feel pointing users to documentation is integral to their understanding of a product. Sometimes it is important to realize email lists are here to assist but not be a replacement for the manual or a personal short-circuit for the manual.
There has been a thread regarding how support should be handled on the GW-INFO list. It started with a question on drag and drop and one of our support representatives gave the drag and drop section number in the Window-Eyes manual. This then started a flood of emotional emails. I thought I would jump in with my comments.
There are many people that feel this list is a replacement for the manual. They feel if they ask any question on this list they should get a high quality step by step answer as if they called our support department directly. On the other end there are people who don't expect anything but gladly take what they can get.
We did not create this list to be a replacement of the manual. This list was designed to be another tool to help understand GW Micro products. To me, it makes perfect sense to reference the section of the manual if such a section exists. What is wrong with that? The manual is the best resource for any Window-Eyes problem. Now if you read the section of the manual and still have issues then that is an entirely different thing. But to not even read the section and demand that something be written from scratch every time a question is asked is just not possible. And remember, this wasn't the first time a question on drag and drop was asked.
If the question starts, I read the section in the manual but I still don't understand how you do blah then of course we can adjust and adapt to the individual's wants and needs. But to not even assume the manual should be referenced is just not acceptable in my mind. Again, this list is another tool and not a manual replacement.
It is amazing how many people don't read the manual just because it is called a manual. We have worked very hard on the manual and it is frustrating when I find that so many people haven't even looked at one single word in it and expect this list to give them everything in the manual. Our support department just doesn't have the resources to do this. If other list members choose to write up step by step instructions and basically duplicate what is in the manual then you should consider this a plus but you should not expect or demand it as the norm.
Bottom line, we want to help you learn and by giving you the section of the manual we consider this the first step. If you truly use this as the first step and still have issues then by all means we'll take the second step. Who knows, the more you read the manual, the more comfortable you become with the manual and the more self sufficient you may become! Isn't that the goal here?
