Path: csiph.com!usenet.pasdenom.info!weretis.net!feeder1.news.weretis.net!feeder.erje.net!eu.feeder.erje.net!xlned.com!feeder5.xlned.com!news2.euro.net!newsgate.cistron.nl!newsgate.news.xs4all.nl!post.news.xs4all.nl!not-for-mail
Return-Path: <python-python-list@m.gmane.org>
X-Original-To: python-list@python.org
Delivered-To: python-list@mail.python.org
X-Spam-Status: OK 0.024
X-Spam-Evidence: '*H*': 0.95; '*S*': 0.00; 'subject:Python': 0.05; 'python': 0.09; 'received:80.91': 0.09; 'received:80.91.229': 0.09; 'received:gmane.org': 0.09; 'received:list': 0.09; 'from:addr:pitrou.net': 0.16; 'from:addr:solipsis': 0.16; 'from:name:antoine pitrou': 0.16; 'ignores': 0.16; 'message- id:@post.gmane.org': 0.16; "module's": 0.16; 'received:80.91.229.3': 0.16; 'received:plane.gmane.org': 0.16; 'stdlib.': 0.16; 'header:User-Agent:1': 0.26; 'header:X -Complaints-To:1': 0.28; 'diversity': 0.29; 'writes:': 0.29; 'generally': 0.32; 'to:addr:python-list': 0.33; 'subject:?': 0.35; 'received:org': 0.36; 'really': 0.36; 'but': 0.36; 'charset:us- ascii': 0.36; 'subject:: ': 0.38; 'page': 0.38; 'to:addr:python.org': 0.39; 'header:Received:5': 0.40; 'url:12': 0.40; 'end': 0.40; 'think': 0.40; 'land': 0.62; 'different': 0.63; 'readers': 0.65; 'targeted': 0.66; '95%': 0.84; 'antoine.': 0.84; 'received:88.163': 0.84; 'url:items': 0.84; 'subject:you': 0.88
X-Injected-Via-Gmane: http://gmane.org/
To: python-list@python.org
From: Antoine Pitrou <solipsis@pitrou.net>
Subject: Re: Do you feel bad because of the Python docs?
Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:22:44 +0000 (UTC)
References: <512cb0a0$0$30001$c3e8da3$5496439d@news.astraweb.com> <512D05F3.5070901@lightbird.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
X-Gmane-NNTP-Posting-Host: sea.gmane.org
User-Agent: Loom/3.14 (http://gmane.org/)
X-Loom-IP: 88.163.232.20 (Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Ubuntu; Linux x86_64; rv:19.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/19.0)
X-BeenThere: python-list@python.org
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.15
Precedence: list
List-Id: General discussion list for the Python programming language <python-list.python.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <http://mail.python.org/mailman/options/python-list>, <mailto:python-list-request@python.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-list/>
List-Post: <mailto:python-list@python.org>
List-Help: <mailto:python-list-request@python.org?subject=help>
List-Subscribe: <http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list>, <mailto:python-list-request@python.org?subject=subscribe>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.python
Message-ID: <mailman.2617.1361971382.2939.python-list@python.org>
Lines: 20
NNTP-Posting-Host: 2001:888:2000:d::a6
X-Trace: 1361971382 news.xs4all.nl 6918 [2001:888:2000:d::a6]:43632
X-Complaints-To: abuse@xs4all.nl
Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.python:40060

Mitya Sirenef <msirenef <at> lightbird.net> writes:
> I think the issue with python documentation is that it ignores the 95/5
> rule: 95% of people who land on a module's page are only looking for 5%
> of its information.

The 95/5 rule is generally a fallacy which ignores that the 5% which the
readers are expecting to learn about is not the same 5% from reader to reader.
(*)

Which means that in the end you would really want a diversity of HOWTOs
targeted at different usages of the stdlib. But it is a lot of work to
write *and* maintain.

(*) cf. http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2006/12/09.html

Regards

Antoine.