Does anyone else agree with me?

If I want to look up anything, why does everything these days have to be in Video format?

All I want is a list of clear instructions, I do not need to sit through a video lasting 10 minutes of more, let alone in an accent that may be difficult to understand.

What is wrong with:

1) open this. 2) Do that 3) etc.

Can people really not read and understand these days?

10) End of moan.😁

Agree. I also prefer written instructions to videos. Guess we are a minority though. 

No fan of these either.
Concise written instructions lack the self-importance of being able to preach and posture.
Some video instructions are much better than others.
One of my preferred one is this:
How to Use MSFS 2020 Add-Ons in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, Including Orbx Central
because there are concise written instructions in the text below the video,
which I have never watched. 

 

This is why I prefer step by step tutorials in PDF format that can be printed out. I am not able to focus properly on instructions at the best of times, so being able to do things at my own pace is imperative. The PMDG flight tutorials are perfect for me.

Edited April 22, 20251 yr by Christopher Low

Since I am, at the moment, far too lazy to go find a video to explain this to you ( 😄 ) I'll just tell you in words.

It is well known that some people learn best by being shown, others by being told, and others by reading. I'm like you, I prefer a written set of instructions. I also like to learn by performing a task, but you need a starting place.

I learned COBOL in a classroom, then FORTRAN from a self-teaching book (and writing a blackjack program). Almost all languages after that were from reading manuals and reading actual code and writing it.

Some people will always have a problem understanding written instructions. Imagine, for example, a new recipe that contains unfamiliar terms. It will be useful to see the recipe being made, especially intermediate steps. Many DIY projects can be like that.

There was a teaching method I learned in the US Army.  First you demonstrate a thing, explaining as you go. Then you talk the learner through doing it themselves.  Let the learner practice a while, then test them by having them demonstrate the thing. Pass/fail, and retrain as necessary. For the most part, anyone can teach anyone anything, at least as far as what we had to know in the Army goes. 🙂 This is how I learned to field strip and reassemble an M-16, and later they taught us this teaching method in NCO Academy.

Sometimes if you keep looking you can find a list of step-by-step instructions.  If not, create your own for yourself and others to use later.

Hook

Edited April 22, 20251 yr by LHookins

Feynman said: 1) Tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em. 2) Tell 'em. 3) Tell 'em what you told 'em.

Useful when giving a talk or lecture.

1 hour ago, jonesrob said:

Feynman said: 1) Tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em. 2) Tell 'em. 3) Tell 'em what you told 'em.

Useful when giving a talk or lecture.

This is also exactly what they told us in the Army. Word for word.

I once had to write something, and I did a short intro, the body of the work, and a short summary.  A "temporary supervisor" who was, um, less familiar with the concept gave me a particularly hard time about it, demanding I change it. 

I didn't. 

There was a bit more to it, including a cultural component on her part. She was a very nice person, but a veritable demon of a boss.

Hook

Edited April 22, 20251 yr by LHookins

I might not be particularly old (50), and my level of grumpiness is not for me to judge, 😉 but I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment. It's actually quite weird that people want instant access to everything these days, and yet they are willing to spend 10 minutes watching an instructional video that shows you steps which can be explained in a few lines of text.

The most annoying thing for me is that while written instructions allow you to search instantly for the relevant bit, video "tutorials" have you constantly hunting for that relevant bit on the time slider, causing you to waste a lot of time in the process. My favorite kind is those videos that show you simple config file edits, such as "replace the value X in file Y.cfg with value Z", where instead of getting that one-sentence instruction, you have to watch someone fumble around with folders on the desktop for five minutes...

Edited April 22, 20251 yr by tymk

I'm not that grumpy, but my impatience can trigger a raging bout of grumpiness.  I'm getting to be old, almost 70 yo.

Back to the topic, I prefer a good old PDF or word file you can print out for reference.  A PDF with an embedded video/videos is nice too.  Being hard of hearing, some accents are nearly impossible for me.

Remember something called "books"?

It's an age thing.
I like my e-reader for its convenience factor but I do prefer a physical book any time.

I do, however, understand the quick and easy solution of video instruction.

39 minutes ago, speedyTC said:

Remember something called "books"?

It's an age thing.
I like my e-reader for its convenience factor but I do prefer a physical book any time.

I do, however, understand the quick and easy solution of video instruction.

The point is, for me at any rate, that I can read something and either skip on to the next bit, or go back a couple of lines to re-read something that didn't make sense earlier.

Can't do that with a Video. (Well, as easily).

4 hours ago, tymk said:

I might not be particularly old (50), and my level of grumpiness is not for me to judge, 😉 but I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment.

I guess that, even being just 40, agreeing with this fully makes me a grumpy old man. Let's hope my GF doesn't see this (she teases me I'm old) 😂

49 minutes ago, speedyTC said:

I do, however, understand the quick and easy solution of video instruction.

After watching at some of the YouTube tutorials all around there, looks like the only one that gets it "quick and easy" is the video author. Everyone else will have to deal with his blah blah blah for 10+ minutes...for the same information you could have read in 30 seconds or less.

However, I've seen some videos where the author went the extra mile, and not only added a table of contents in their videos, but they did so in a way that, by just reading it, you got 90% of the info shown in the video. Usually that 90% covers the part you were needing. If I find an example, I'll post it here.

Edited April 22, 20251 yr by Luis Hernandez

25 minutes ago, Luis Hernandez said:

However, I've seen some videos where the author went the extra mile, and not only added a table of contents in their videos, but they did so in a way that, by just reading it, you got 90% of the info shown in the video. Usually that 90% covers the part you were needing. If I find an example, I'll post it here.

As an example, I found the video below very useful.  I've been building my computers since the 1990s, but haven't built one from scratch in about 10 years, just upgraded parts.  So this was a big help just getting everything organized and planned for when I do it soon:

 

2 hours ago, IanHarrison said:

The point is, for me at any rate, that I can read something and either skip on to the next bit, or go back a couple of lines to re-read something that didn't make sense earlier.

The best explanation yet!  Especially the going back part.  Which is why I avoid audio books and much prefer to read them.  I can turn the pages back when I want to review something.  Besides, the written word is always less ambiguous than the spoken word.

Noel

3 hours ago, Luis Hernandez said:

However, I've seen some videos where the author went the extra mile, and not only added a table of contents in their videos, but they did so in a way that, by just reading it, you got 90% of the info shown in the video. Usually that 90% covers the part you were needing. If I find an example, I'll post it here.

3 hours ago, Mike A said:

As an example, I found the video below very useful.

This video has exactly what I had in mind! Thanks for posting it.

Edited April 22, 20251 yr by Luis Hernandez