[libreoffice-website] Re: Modules for Documentation Framework

Le 2010-11-03 08:00, Carlos Jenkins a écrit :
> Hi!
>
> 2010/11/3 Benjamin Horst<bhorst@mac.com>
>
> > On Nov 3, 2010, at 6:59 AM, Carlos Jenkins wrote:
> > This list looks very good!
> Thanks! :D
>
>
> > I suppose we're looking at Drupal 6 for the site, but is there a chance
> > Drupal 7 and updated modules will be ready in time for us to use it from the
> > beginning?
> Not sure, it's a possibility we need to analyse. If chosen, Drupal 7 will
> help us to prolong the life frame of the website framework. I'm actually
> worried that when Drupal 7 comes out, all modules we need doesn't have a
> version for Drupal 7/not equivalent modules are avalaible, and that those
> module where not tested enough as they are just been started to get used in
> production sites (as the release of Drupal 7). I suppose Drupal 7 will come
> with a migration plan and facilities for people using Drupal 6. My proposal,
> for now, would be to build things in Drupal 6, then, when Drupal 7 is
> released, wait a prudence time to allow modules to get migrated and improved
> and tested, and then, make a migration plan and execute it. Where are
> talking about 1 and a half or 2 years maybe.
>
> My two cents.
>
> Cheers

Hi Carlos, you may want to check out another long response from Jean 
Hollis Weber in the documentation mailist. Here it is:

==================

On Tue, 2010-11-02 at 20:56 -0400, Marc Paré wrote:
> > Hi Jean
> >
> > Thanks for your answers and all of the other documentation team 
answers.
> > This is really a lot of good information. If only there were enough
> > members to do all that we wanted. Let's hope that with LibO more 
people
> > will come on-board for help with the documentation team. I am guessing
> > the the US and Canadian have not really been tapped and I am also
> > guessing the Mexico is probably the same. Once we organise and 
market we
> > will hopefully get more people on board.
We actually have a lot of volunteers at OOoAuthors, but only 10 or so of
them do much of anything. Most of that 10 do excellent work (mainly
editing and reviewing, but also some writing) but they are not available
as much as is needed.

> > Could you tell me (I am also a the LibO Marketing Team member) how 
many
> > more members you would need at this point, what type of qualifications
> > they should have? Ideally, how many would the documentation team need?
Ideally, for the user guides we need 5 coordinator/ editor/ publishers
(I don't really know what to call them) -- 1 for each book -- and I
don't know how many doing the writing/ editing/ reviewing/ indexing/
graphics. I would like to see each chapter have someone taking
responsibility for keeping it up to date, though obviously one person
could take on several chapters, either in one book or a series of
related chapters in several books: for example, all the chapters on
customizing or all the chapters on printing & PDF creation. That would
maximize consistency with the least effort. So... maybe 20 people? (And
I'm not considering other types of docs, such as FAQs, tutorials,
how-tos, etc.)

This page has more info than you want, but one relevant part is the list
of things we do when publishing a chapter or a book. There is a lot of
post-processing related to where the files are put, wikifying them, etc.
Even if much of this can be (semi-)automated, someone has to start the
process and verify that it has completed correctly.
http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/Dashboard/Producing_User_Guides

I don't care about qualifications as such, but volunteers really need
some basic skills that are often lacking but can be highly developed in
people with no formal quals.

<aside>
Most volunteers say they will "proofread" but what we need most is
people to do research, write, and critically review/test what others
have written. Cleaning up the English when the facts are wrong isn't
much help.

Much of the work requires good analytical & problem-solving skills or
else it's done too superficially and misses too many errors, omissions,
and important inconsistencies (such as, does the figure actually show
what the text says it shows? If not, which is wrong? Are the
instructions complete, correct, and written at an appropriate level for
the audience?), not nitpicking over fine points of grammar or word
choice.

Technical writing/ editing/ indexing/ graphics experience can be
valuable but IMO is not necessary. Also, many people with weak skills in
English make excellent reviewers/testers and often good writers (though
they need to be teamed with an editor) -- because they can do research,
organize the material, check facts, etc.
</aside>

> >
> > Also do you know if the developer docs have a workflow page and could
> > you point me to this page?
I don't know, sorry. Someone who has worked in that area might know.
Clayton (the other OOo Docs Co-Lead and an Oracle employee) oversees
that area. I do know the developer docs are wiki-based and are edited by
a variety of people. I have no idea how much updating is needed.

Oh, and there is the Installation Guide, which has sort of been taken
over by OOoAuthors so should probably be considered as another "user
guide" needing someone to be responsible for it.

==================

Cheers

Marc


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