Generally speaking, help should be your absolute last resort. The content on the page, your information architecture, and so forth should be your primary source of help. In other words, the best help you can provide is making the application clear in the first place.

In my opinion, providing an extended “help” section is often a cop-out that developers use when the site itself isn’t clear enough. In the case of Twitter, the content on the page such as the “why” and “how” sections are sufficiently helpful, and I think providing an extra “help” section is all but unnecessary.

I am increasingly in the favour of not including any help section at all, and rather focusing on making the application and the content itself more helpful.

Remember: nobody reads the help!

If you wouldn’t mind, Demogirl, would you have a look at http://Mippin.com on Mobile (!) and Web and the newly launched support tool http://MippinMaker.com on web only?

Cheers,
Carola.

Just read the Digg thread and it has re-confirmed my view that ‘web 2.0′ has empowered a lot of people mainly to be rude with no come back. So what if you are female, ‘from the valley’, pretty or ugly, have a voice I don’t like/like, are/are not an expert. It doesn’t matter. You have an opinion which you express clearly without insulting anyone. If I disagree I can extend the same courtesy back to you or say nothing.

keep up the good work.

Nice post – I found on Digg in my Netvibes page.

What is really intereresting about your cast is that it is really simple… I am in usability in Sydney Australia and I often forget that MOST people don’t really understand usability at all!

Often I head off blogging about stuff that is just too complex and will appeal to a small percentage of net users who are in the business.

I need to K.eep I.t S.imple S.toopid and I will get more readers!