>Our computer center has a help desk (physical room or by telephone or
>email) and LOTS of free handouts.  So howcome an enterprising student has
>been doing a booming business in the library's 24 hour room selling a "How
>to use the Internet at UConn" document at $5 a pop?
 
I suspect that, as with many such handouts, the ones at UConn are
rehashes of README files or extremely minimal instructions.  If the
kid in the library has put together a plain English here-how-to-go-
about-it handout, I don't doubt that he's doing well.
 
I've found that the best way to write handouts is this:
 
        - First draft
                - Circulate among coworkers - tweak
                - Walk into hall, grab 5 random students
                        - "How does this read?  Did you understand it?"
                - Disappear back into office among flood of confused looks
                - Second draft
        - repeat process
 
It usually takes at least 3 iterations before I have something that
the 'typical' user will both read and enjoy.  (My handouts tend to
be rather conversational, as opposed to the 'textbook' style.)
 
--Wes