Ultrix Documentation

[Nancy Shoemaker]

The Summer/Fall 1988 Software Documentation catalog just arrived, and
I was glad to see that the part numbers for Ultrix were updated to
reflect the v2.2 rearrangement of the manual.  However, all the pieces
of the System Manager's Manual (binders 3A, 3B, 3C) were listed
without prices.  They are "available only within the documentation
kit" (i.e. the $404 update set or the $730 complete set).

In v2.0, the system management documentation was bundled into:

	System Manager's Guide 		AA-BG59D-TE	$32
	Network Management Guide	AA-JD76A-TE	$51

In v2.2, these two manuals were split into 18 separate pieces.  When
2.2 came out we tried to find out how to order these manuals
individually (e.g. Guide to SCCS) and were told that they could be put
into the price book at $10 apiece if we called back to say that we
*really* wanted to order them.  The $180 for v2.2 compared to the $83
for v2.0 discouraged us, so we never made the call.  We even tried
ordering AA-BG59D-TE (which was still in the price book) to see what
would arrive (after being assured that only *current* documentation
would be shipped).  You guessed it.  The v2.0 manual arrived on April
4, six weeks after our v2.2 kit.

I think parts of the System Management Guide are very well done, and
I'd like to be able to get extra copies.  Even the "right to copy" is
based on list price.  Is this an issue for anyone else?  Is there some
obvious rationale behind the policy that the only manuals available
ala carte are the ones which are provided in machine readable form?
[Okay, some *other* obvious explanation?]  Does anyone have any
insight into future directions for Ultrix documentation?

[I apologize for burdening you all with an issue that should be between
us and our sales rep...]

--Nancy Shoemaker
  uunet!prcrs!nes
  (703) 556-2678