Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site brl-tgr.ARPA Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!bellcore!decvax!genrad!panda!talcott!harvard!seismo!brl-tgr!tgr!steve@brl-tgr From: Stephen WolffNewsgroups: net.unix Subject: Re: HELP system for UNIX SysV R2 Message-ID: <8195@brl-tgr.ARPA> Date: Sun, 10-Feb-85 17:17:24 EST Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.8195 Posted: Sun Feb 10 17:17:24 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 13-Feb-85 02:21:53 EST Sender: news@brl-tgr.ARPA Organization: Ballistic Research Lab Lines: 14 The trouble with all the `help' facilities I've suffered under is that they are keyword-based. That's ok if I've got the right idea and the right word. However, if I've got the right idea but the wrong word I'm out of luck: ("man -k delete" won't tell me to use `rm' to delete a file). It would seem from my uninitiated view to be a trivial but tedious job to key on synonyms as well. Oddly, if I have both the wrong word and the wrong idea, then there are at least three AI `helps' in the works that will correct my misperceptions and tell me what I need to know. Nothing beats the on-line manual. The VMS `HELP' is so condescending and marginally informative I want to put a wrench through the screen every time.