On Wed, 15 Feb 1995 18:55:00 EST s.merchant said:
<deleted>
>
>I don't consider the above description of "on-line manual" to be a
>manual--it's an assortment of random useful data that tries to
>compensate for the absence of a manual.  If there were a true manual,
>then an on-line version could be available in "straight-text" and
>PostScript forms, and clearly a printed version could be easily created
>(not so easily the other way around).
 
  Yes, that's the plan.  Also hope to have it on Web pages and Gopher.
Maybe even a Windows Help file for the NT sites.  :)  But please don't
ask for hypercard stacks, we don't do Macs. :))
 
>I do hope, BTW, that L-Soft's current efforts in creating a manual will
>be to create a _real_ one.  (It is rather surprising that a commercial
>product does not have one, and a rather time-consuming process--both on
>the parts of requesters and the kind respondents on this list--to get
>answers to simple questions.  I'd like to see this list evolve to
>addressing the real esoteric problems that cannot be anticipated, or are
>configuration dependent, or whatever, but that cannot happen till there
>is a real manual.
 
  Since LISTSERV went commercial only about a year ago, the labor involved
in porting the product to other environments took precedence.  Eric hired
me in October to write documentation.  And, barring PC emergencies, that's
what I've been doing.  My goal is to have the list owner's manual finished
by the end of 1Q95.  That's 6 weeks from now.
 
>As an example, although the Keywords documents is comprehensive in the
>list of keywords supported, it is excessively and unnecessarily terse
>about what each one does.  And there are some things that are simply not
>explained anywhere other than through a rather cryptic (to the
>uninitiated) and cumbersome process of looking up archives to see if
>anyone has ever asked that question before.
 
  When you see the new keyword doc, you'll note that it will be different
and will actually cover <all> of the keywords.  :)  However, I disagree
with you on the issue of terseness...I have generally been able to use
LISTKEYW MEMO without much trouble.  In any case, these problems are
being addressed--I've provided examples in a number of instances, for
one thing.
 
Nathan