SUMMARY/RESULTS: Binders VS Non-binders survey (LONG)

[Gerry Lachac]

INTRODUCTION
------------

This posting is summary of all the responses I received to the Binders
VS Non-Binders documentation issue.  I would like to thank everyone
who took the time to respond, I really appreciate it. (Really, I do!)

The response was excellent.  I received a total of 90 replies.  A good
number of people wanted to see the results (at least 20 or so) and I
have decided to post to the same groups I originally asked the
question in.

The remainder of this posting is a breakdown of the responses I
received, followed by quotes and my personal analysis.  I have divided
the responses into the following groups:

FOR BINDERS:		These are people who explicitedly said
			"I prefer binders"

AGAINST BINDERS:	These are people who either preferred
			spiral/wire-O or glue type binding.

NEUTRAL:		Actually I labeled this group "wishy-washy" :-)
			These are people who basicly said "Glue is
			good for this, binders good for this, wire-o 
			good for this."  There were some good
			observations from this group, they just
			never stated which they preferred overall.

After the numbers I also include anonymous quotes from the three
categories.  These are comments that I thought were interesting.



NUMBERS
-------

	FOR BINDERS:  52  (58%)
    AGAINST BINDERS:  23  (26%)
            NEUTRAL:  15  (16%)
	-----------------------
 	      Total:  90



QUOTES
------

"It depends on the size of the manual, but I prefer it to be 
 glued.  I have had lots of problems with pages getting ripped
 out of the O- and wire-ring binders too easily."

"Glued, any day.  If by "Binders" you mean the usual American
 3-pronged variety then they're bloody useless.  "

"Glued manuals are the WORST.  I like to be able to open a manual
 to the page I need and have it stay there."

"The only real excuse for binders is that they make it easy for the
 vendor to update the manual. However, that's to their benefit, not mine,
 and they almost never do it anyway."

"Also, documentation in ring binders can be photocopied."

"Binders; there is no substitute.  Ever want to add your own notes to a
 binder?  Just punch a few holes in a piece of paper, & add it to the binder."

"My only objection to spiral binding is that all manuals look
 alike from the spiral side.  Many manufacturers overcome this
 by making one of the covers longer, so that it folds over a
 forms a pseudo-spine along the non-bound side.  You can then
 keep the volumes with the spiral binders facing in and the
 pseudo-spines, with titles, facing you."

"Binders.  Binders are easier to update.  Simply send the replacement
 pages along in an 8 x 11 envelope and I can insert them myself.  I
 like to keep my own notes, especially in technical documentation, and
 with binders, I can insert pages at will."

"I personally prefer the small three ring binders that come in their own
 storage box (such as comes with SuperPaint or IBM DOS manuals).  This
 makes for nice storage in my bookshelves (and easy access to the manuals)
 as well as allowing me to put any additional material into the manual."

"I prefer three ring binders and would like to see them all in 8.5 X 11 size
 and get rid of the smaller 6 X 9 size."

"BINDERS are best if it's likely that revisions/upgrades/etc. will be made, and
    pages are to be added or removed from the manual.  I prefer round rings
    to the D-shaped ones, especially for thick manuals.  I find it nearly
    impossible to turn lots of pages at once (say, to get to the index) if
    the manual has D-shaped rings."

"O-ring binders are okay, in that you can get them to lay flat, and they
 usually stay together pretty well.  They are probably the best compromise
 between binders and glued/paperback manuals.  (Note, though, that I
 much prefer metal spirals to plastic -- They hold up a lot better.)"



OBSERVATIONS 
------------

People overwhelmingly chose binders over anything else.  There was
still a split as to the size of the binder.  Most people preferred
"bigger" (8-1/2 X 11) over the smaller sizes.

People who like binders want reinforced last pages that don't tear out.

People who preferred spiral/wire-o binding liked the fact that it
laid flat and could be folded over to display only one page.  People
who preferred binders argued for the "flat" aspect as well.

People who liked spiral/wire-o binding stressed the importance of
an "overlapping flap" that let them identify the manual when it was
on the bookshelf.

People generally hated glue-bound. The exceptions to this were
read-once manuals (such as intros) and people from Sweden. :-) [ The
latter is a personal observation, but out of the 5 people who said
they liked glued manuals, 4 responses were from Sweden.  There were
responses from Sweden who preferred other types of bindings, but I
thought the demographics of people who preferred glued bindings were
interesting enough to note.]



ENDING COMMENTS and OBLIGATORY DISCLAIMER
-----------------------------------------

There you have it, the results of a two-week informal USENET survey.
Anyone who wants any more info on responses feel free to leave me
email.

Any conclusions you want to draw from this, you can.  Any opinions
expressed in this posting are my own or quoted from mailings.  




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