Ethereal-dev: [Ethereal-dev] Re: [Ethereal-cvs] rev 17888: /trunk/docbook/eug_src/: EUG_chapte

Note: This archive is from the project's previous web site, ethereal.com. This list is no longer active.

From: Ulf Lamping <ulf.lamping@xxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 04:00:13 +0200
guy@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
User: guy
Date: 2006/04/17 04:44 PM

Log:
 Give more information about time zones - several capture file formats
 use local time, not UTC.

Directory: /trunk/docbook/eug_src/
  Changes    Path                        Action
  +46 -12    EUG_chapter_advanced.xml    Modified



http://anonsvn.ethereal.com/viewcvs/viewcvs.py?rev=17888&view=rev
First of all, I appreciate that anyone other than me is having an eye on the user documentation.

However, the latest changes you've done are hard (if ever) understandable by a common Ethereal user, example:

"UN*X systems, and "Windows NT"
   systems (Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows
   Server 2003, Windows Vista), represent time internally as UTC,
   so, when Ethereal or tcpdump/WinDump is capturing, no conversion
   is necessary; however, if the system time zone is not set
   correctly, the system's UTC time might not be correctly set even
   if the system clock appears to display correct local time."

Please sit back and read it again!

<rant>
Which common Ethereal user will understand this (single!!!) sentence until read at least three times (if understand it ever)?!? I had to read it three times to get a sense out of it (I'm still unsure if I got it correct, and I'm probably not an Ethereal novice).

What are you trying to say here essentially?
Why do you mention tcpdump/Windump here? It's a user's documentation about Ethereal. User's might even not know what tcpdump/Windump is and they don't have to!
Which conversion from/to is necessary?
.........

Please keep in mind that this is a *user* documentation!!!!!!!!

The next sentence is using the term "Windows OT" which might be a funny term in UNIX developer circles, but making a fun on your user's back is probably a very bad choice (your mileage on "morality" may vary). This term has to be avoid in any case in user documentation, as the term "Windows OT" is not known by any common Windows user (explaining it right in the sentence don't make it any better).

The term "Windows 9x based" might be a quite more common choice.

While you've provided valuable information, you seem to miss the point of writing user documentation.

User documentation is about writing information that a common user is able to understand and that he will find helpful!

It's about nothing else!!!!
</rant>

I know that writing user docs isn't easy as I've done it myself for some time.

Regards, ULFL