[ic] Mixing "cookbook" examples and Wiki?

[Interchange server]

On Sun, 2003-01-19 at 02:37, Jon wrote:
> > Just curious, any thoughts on whether or not it would be wise to
> > contribute to the Wiki with "cookbook" style examples?  Or should we
> > just stick to a reference type layout?
> > --
> 
>   My 2 cents, I love having examples. If there is any one thing I would
> love to see improved in the existing documentation is to mix up the
> examples with variations of usage of options and parameters.
> 
I second that. Sometimes documentation is so extensive that
it obfuscates how to do things in the most common situations. 

To see my point, do a 'man ping'. If the manpage would have a single
example, for most common use the whole reference wouldn't even be
needed. In fact I more frequently find the 'real' answer to questions by
searching usenet than by reading the manual.

Surely there is an art to reading manpages, but I'd choose a good
explanation with a set of examples over just the specification anytime.

Regards,

MRJB