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Why do they FAQing bother?
Why writing game guides is rewarding and soul destroying at the same time.
Date: Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Author: Matthew Reynolds

You deal with outdated file types

FAQs have a strict format of 79 characters with manual line breaks, all in basic text format. While it makes sense to have a uniform standard (HTML can easily be messed up) it can make searching difficult and tabulating and drawing diagrams even more so. The harsh monotone aesthetics also occasionally makes your eyes bleed. So despite playing games on the very latest hardware, you are time traveling back to the birth of the internet every time you write something. Great Scott!

Writing FAQs is a unique hobby. While it can be seen as pointless, thankless and time consuming, it supplements an otherwise ordinary game experience. It is not for everyone: many fall at the first hurdle or do not see the appeal of it all, and dismiss it purely as a waste of time. However, as the tens of thousands of FAQs for all types of systems show -- this is a serious subset of the gaming hobby. Who knows, you might love the abusive e-mails and get addicted to caffeine in the process.

Questions or comments? We'd love to hear from you .

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