2011-09-12, 04:26
I think what Buadhai is trying to get at, Ned (and I agree with him on this point, as a professional writer and editor who also did a couple of decades worth of in-home PC tech support), is that although it is technically correct that you visit "Cydia" to install via the command line, in practice that is irrelevant to the end-user. An end-user just wants to know how to install XBMC. They don't need to know that it's a "Cydia" version, and don't need to know anything about Cydia. In fact, as Buadhai pointed out, the mere mention of Cydia is confusing.
You said, "Our FAQs and How-to's aren't just there to get someone from point A to point B, but to educate them as well. There might be a gray line on some stuff to teach or not teach, but Cydia is far from the gray line." Actually, I think that's exactly what a FAQ and how-to are supposed to do--get someone from point A to point B. If they want to learn more about something BEYOND how to get from point A to point B, then by all means have additional resources available. But the primary goal of a FAQ and how-to should be to give an uneducated user the minimum information they need--and no more than that--to get a task done.
An instruction manual should not be about "teaching." It should be about giving people the information they need to get something done. Additional information for people who want to learn the in-depth information about the subject can be linked to separately.
That's why, for instance, in the "How To Install XBMC" section, I wouldn't mention Cydia at all; I'd just give them the step-by-step bare minimum info. Then I'd put something like, "for additional detailed information about the installation process, see these wiki links:....", and have THOSE links explain the details of Cydia, the process, etc etc.
Anyway, that's just my opinion, for whatever it's worth
You said, "Our FAQs and How-to's aren't just there to get someone from point A to point B, but to educate them as well. There might be a gray line on some stuff to teach or not teach, but Cydia is far from the gray line." Actually, I think that's exactly what a FAQ and how-to are supposed to do--get someone from point A to point B. If they want to learn more about something BEYOND how to get from point A to point B, then by all means have additional resources available. But the primary goal of a FAQ and how-to should be to give an uneducated user the minimum information they need--and no more than that--to get a task done.
An instruction manual should not be about "teaching." It should be about giving people the information they need to get something done. Additional information for people who want to learn the in-depth information about the subject can be linked to separately.
That's why, for instance, in the "How To Install XBMC" section, I wouldn't mention Cydia at all; I'd just give them the step-by-step bare minimum info. Then I'd put something like, "for additional detailed information about the installation process, see these wiki links:....", and have THOSE links explain the details of Cydia, the process, etc etc.
Anyway, that's just my opinion, for whatever it's worth