razznaija:

Why do you think this is just a Nigerian thing? everybody does that wether they are American, Chinese, British or even South African  so i don't get why you see this as only a Nigerian thing.  Just go to yahoo.com/answers go to the electronics section and you will see people asking questions that they could have easily read the manual to confirm,  this is just a very ignorant post.

razznaija:

Why do you think this is just a Nigerian thing? everybody does that wether they are American, Chinese, British or even South African  so i don't get why you see this as only a Nigerian thing.  Just go to yahoo.com/answers go to the electronics section and you will see people asking questions that they could have easily read the manual to confirm,  this is just a very ignorant post.

Demdem:

Bought a new phone today, charged the damn thing and started using it
When i have issues will consult the manual
Abegiii dont copy me ooooo

maclatunji:

I have noticed that people try to defend their acts when someone points out that it might be flawed.

semid4lyfe:

Lol. . .I'm also very guilty of this. Let me give a specific example. . . .

I bought my laptop (a Hp pavillion dv6900 Special Edition) in 2008 and it came with a wireless mouse amongst other things. I got home, brought out the lapy from the carton and switched it on. I then brought out the wireless mouse and inserted the battery, switched it on and tried using it with the laptop and it didn't work.

I was like ''Kiniyi o sise jor'' (this thing nor work jare) and dumped the mouse back in the carton and exed the mouse. About a year later, I met someone with exactly my laptop but he was navigating it with the wireless mouse. I then approached him and asked him ''Bros, I have exactly this lapy but since I bought it, the mouse didn't work'' and the guy asked me ''did you plug the transmitter''?

^^And I replied ''which transmitter?. . .I just put the batteries in it, switched it on and checked to see my lapy bluetooth was ON and when I tried using the mouse, it didn't work. . .abi nor be bluetooth e dey use?'' The guy laughed and replied ''NO, it doesn't use bluetooth. . as you can see my bluetooth is OFF and the mouse is working . . . it actually uses a transmitter and it's inside the mouse. . .you have to remove the transmitter from inside the mouse and plug in the laptop, then it'd install the mouse drivers and it'll start working''. He then opened his mouse to show me where the transmitter will be.

So I got home later that day, brought out the mouse, opened it and the transmitter was exactly where he said it'd be. I then plugged it in the laptop and after it installed it's drivers, the mouse started working.

To cut a long story short, I denied myself of using the wireless mouse for a long time simply cos I didn't read the laptop manual. . .and GOD know how much I hate using the mouse on laptops.

If you think I've changed as a result of that experience, you're on a long thing cos I still don't read user manuals [/i]

iyatrustee:

its true oh! in fact, recently i decided to change my microwave to one that comes with a griller. becos i had gotten used to microwave ovens, i didnt bother to read the manual only for me to find out it works differently. It is now decoration in my kitchen cos i cant operate it effectively and i don troway the manual tey tey

sylve11:

what about if i don't know how to read?

George_D:

well, i must be one in a million then because i make it a point to read every manual that comes with my purchases-from electronics to cars.

last time i took over a week purring through my toyota highlander manual so much so that i was even the
one telling the car dealer a lot of things he never even knew existed in the car!  

George_D:

well, i must be one in a million then because i make it a point to read every manual that comes with my purchases-from electronics to cars.

last time i took over a week purring through my toyota highlander manual so much so that i was even the
one telling the car dealer a lot of things he never even knew existed in the car!

Purist:

I just finished a course in Usability last week, and this issue was one of the numerous topics treated.  From Usability viewpoint, it has been reported that majority of users (about 90% or so) do NOT read manuals.  So, this is not a 'Nigerian' thing at all.

Well, I am not trying to ridicule your point but it is only right to speak of what you know. Now that I have brought it to the fore, we can all learn more about the topic


And Wallie is right.  One of the most fundamental usability attributes is Learnability.  Products should be easy to learn and easy to use, intuitively.  Any system that causes a user to first of all consult a manual before figuring out a thing about that system most likely has a very poor design (from engineering & usability perspective) and therefore has serious Usability issues (unless it's a really complex system, or the user is exceptionally dull).

Manuals are simply there for reference purposes, most times when you hit a dead end with your devices or you're trying to use some advanced features.  They're not novels that should be read from kpali to kpali.

George_D:

wallie,
reading the manual first hand gives you a general idea what to expect from your product.
in some cases i never even unwrap my electronics until after having read the manual
from page to page.

as for your experience with the car, i'd say that was a rather exceptionally poorly designed
car you got there!

George_D:

wallie,
reading the manual first hand gives you a general idea what to expect from your product.
in some cases i never even unwrap my electronics until after having read the manual
from page to page.

as for your experience with the car, i'd say that was a rather exceptionally poorly designed
car you got there!