need great user guide samples

anyone know of a very well done user guide?

[Craig_F]

I'm putting together a user guide for a web service right now, and I'm sick of our standard format. So, I'm looking to get some ideas to revamp the guide. Anyone know of good guides out there?

Thanks!

[Hawkgirl]

Interactive? Animated? Downloadable? Plain? Extensive? Complicated service? :)

[Craig_F]

I'm mostly interested in plain text, or html guides, but would be interested to see just about anything if it is well done.

And yes, the service is somewhat complicated.

[hcstudios]

Maybe you can get ahold of one of the Society for Technical Communications award winning docs. The national winners are listed at the STC website in the Recognition section, and there's probably a link somewhere on that site to all the local chapter sites (which should list the local/regional winners). Once you know the names of some of the docs, you can probably search for them -- I know lots of hw/sw companies put their manuals online in PDF format.

(This tip brought to you by an ex STC member and Regional award winner -- I was a tech writer back in the 90s but burned out after writing one too many system admin manuals!)