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From: Stephen Wolff  
Newsgroups: 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.