Results: Impossible direction--I attempted to decipher maintenance directions today, with little luck. It seems that difficult to impossible instructions are far too common.
1.
1.
Speaking of the lawnmower, (or other power equipment), how many of you have encountered the following? Directions that apply to multiple models which don't quite match up to the model you have.
25%
•
404 votes
Directions that rely heavily upon photos--that don't look like what you have
19%
•
306 votes
Directions that tell you to clean by brushing when there is no brush known to humankind that will clean the areas that need to be cleaned
10%
•
157 votes
Directions that tell you to perform maintenance when the odometer, (or other contraption) reaches a certain point, which your particular odometer, etc. will never reach.
8%
•
134 votes
N/A
61%
•
987 votes
Other (please specify)
1%
•
17 votes
| Other Answers | Percentage | Votes |
| 0.35% | 7 | |
| directions with poorly made drawings instead of photos | 0.05% | 1 |
| let the pros fix it | 0.05% | 1 |
| pieces missing | 0.05% | 1 |
| nitpick, nitpick, nitpick | 0.05% | 1 |
| all of the above and more | 0.05% | 1 |
| the page is upside down, making harder to read through. | 0.05% | 1 |
| oriental instructions where left & right are reversed. | 0.05% | 1 |
| directions in every language but the language you speak. | 0.05% | 1 |
| f | 0.05% | 1 |
| just bought a new cordless unit that shows a plug for mulching on the directions, same was not in the box. | 0.05% | 1 |
2.
2.
And recipes! Usually I can guesstimate, but learning cooks, how frustrating! How many of the following cause problems? Salt and pepper to taste. (before it even hits the oven--who knows?)
24%
•
383 votes
Two tomatoes, zucchini, etc. What size?
19%
•
309 votes
Add butter. (salted or unsalted?)
16%
•
256 votes
Bake until done (I love this one)
33%
•
533 votes
N/A
47%
•
767 votes
Other (please specify)
1%
•
14 votes
| Other Answers | Percentage | Votes |
| leave at "room temperature" | 0.04% | 1 |
| none of those cause a prob for me | 0.04% | 1 |
| 0.04% | 1 | |
| these don't bother me, but "cook chicken for 3 minutes" is always a lie | 0.04% | 1 |
| cooking doesn't frustrate me | 0.04% | 1 |
| more nitpicking | 0.04% | 1 |
| for tomatoes or zucchini's it's usually a medium size, bake until done, insert toothpick to find out or use thermometer | 0.04% | 1 |
| use 'unsalted butter' but then add a tsp of salt!!! | 0.04% | 1 |
| none | 0.04% | 1 |
| none of these i can cook. | 0.04% | 1 |
| a pinch of this and that. | 0.04% | 1 |
| bonw of these are an issue | 0.04% | 1 |
| haven't had problems with recipes | 0.04% | 1 |
| a dash is the one that causes my problems | 0.04% | 1 |
3.
3.
Crafts--I'm most knowledgeable about knitting, so my frustrations lie there. Have you dealt with the following? Gauge measured in pattern stitch. (do I really need to complete four inches of a complicated pattern to decide what needle size to use?)
13%
•
210 votes
Pick up five stitches (by what method?)
13%
•
209 votes
Cast on and off (by what method)?
10%
•
166 votes
N/A
74%
•
1204 votes
Other (please specify)
1%
•
9 votes
| Other Answers | Percentage | Votes |
| 0.28% | 5 | |
| do you nitpick everything | 0.06% | 1 |
| lots of 'em for knitting & crochet. | 0.06% | 1 |
| yes love these when you are trying to learn | 0.06% | 1 |
| what type of yarn to use for a pattern and how to determine what size needle if you change the yarn | 0.06% | 1 |
4.
4.
So much effort goes into many instructions that I am left wondering why more precision is not available. Do any of these seem possible? English is the author's second (or third) language
27%
•
435 votes
It is a failed attempt to prevent me from having early onset Alzheimers
10%
•
166 votes
A devious method of ensuring you will have to buy another lawnmower, more zucchini, or more yarn
15%
•
248 votes
It is a method of reminding me of my inferiority to the author of the directions.
14%
•
220 votes
N/A
53%
•
860 votes
Other (please specify)
1%
•
20 votes
| Other Answers | Percentage | Votes |
| 0.15% | 3 | |
| i have had the same frustrating problem but with regards to other things such as furniture and electronics | 0.05% | 1 |
| a dash | 0.05% | 1 |
| the original instructions were writtenn in a foreign language and then translate into english. | 0.05% | 1 |
| another sign of our educational system's failure to teach children skills using english. | 0.05% | 1 |
| everything is left vauge and dumbed down for the general population | 0.05% | 1 |
| people who make ashtrays don't smoke! | 0.05% | 1 |
| lack of critical thinking by the author | 0.05% | 1 |
| lol | 0.05% | 1 |
| some companies love to be vague. | 0.05% | 1 |
| they never really did the instructions themselves | 0.05% | 1 |
| i guess you do | 0.05% | 1 |
| the proofreader changed the wording | 0.05% | 1 |
| skilled direction giving is an uncommon art. | 0.05% | 1 |
| because companies have been sued so much, they provide too much information now and nothing makes sense... | 0.05% | 1 |
| the author seems to be working on the assumption that the reader is intimately familiar with their company's products and can deduce what to do from a generic instruction sheet that vaguely covers all their models. | 0.05% | 1 |
| it's just that hard to explain things precisely. | 0.05% | 1 |
| all those are funny | 0.05% | 1 |
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