Programmers Prefer 8.5 x 11

[Greg Hunt]

I definitely prefer 8.5" x 11" paper for documentation.  I also prefer
it to be loose-leaf rather than bound in any fashion.  It makes it
easier to read the page I've turned to when my hands are busy at the
keyboard.  It's also easier for adding replacement pages for updates,
and for taking pages out when I need to look at lots of pages at once.
I can also punch holes in note paper and add them in easly if I need
to.  I think this size paper is easier to read, probably mostly because
it's the size most other manuals that I deal with are printed in.

I don't like the little 6" x 8.5" manuals at all. 

I prefer 11" x 8.5" paper for printouts, however. This is the same size
as 8.5" x 11" paper, but turned on it's side.  It prints at 8 LPI
instead of 6 LPI, but can get 107 columns per page instead of 80. 
That's real helpful for code listings and file displays, which tend to
be more than 80 columns wide.  You don't have to deal with folding the
lines or truncating them.  But hey, I'm a programmer.  I do things
with computers that customers don't (the reverse is also true).

Another advantage of loose leaf bound manuals that I've recently found
out is that they're easier to recycle.  Just chuck the cardboard front
and back pages that they usually have, and all the rest of the pages
can be recycled just like printout paper can be.  At least that's what
our recyclying committee here told us.

--
Greg Hunt                        Internet: hunt at dg-rtp.dg.com
Data Management Development      UUCP:     {world}!mcnc!rti!dg-rtp!hunt
Data General Corporation
Research Triangle Park, NC       These opinions are mine, not DG's.