collaborating with FedoraNEWS.ORG

[Gavin Henry]

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On Monday 07 Jun 2004 22:02, Karsten Wade wrote:
> There are a few FedoraNEWS.ORG contributors on this list, and I've been
> considering a few notions I'd like to discuss with this whole group of
> writers, to see what develops.

We're here...

>
> I want to acknowledge that FedoraNEWS.ORG has been doing a great service
> to the Fedora community.  The accuracy, timeliness, and usefulness of
> the articles is great.  I've personally used several tutorials to
> accomplish new things with Fedora Core, such as setting up a yum
> repository.

Thank you. We try. I don't know how many of us are subscribers here.

> It seems that the niche FedoraNEWS.ORG documentation and the Fedora docs
> project (FDP) fill are not the same.  I think the two groups (ideally)
> provide different and useful services to Fedora users.

Agreed.

>
> I see the FedoraNEWS.ORG articles as generally being timely, short, and
> focused on solving single problems.  These articles are responsive and
> useful during test periods.  Over the longterm, there may be less
> attraction in maintaining much of the docs because the problems they
> solve are no longer problems.

Yes, My apt test1 howto was hits thousands of times, but is no longer valid.

>
> I see the Fedora docs project as providing longer, broader documents
> that focus on multiple aspects of using Fedora Core or are more complex
> in their handling.  There is room to grow into sizable books.  Normally,
> the majority of the content in an FDP guide shouldn't change very much
> from Fedora Core release to release, typically just details of command
> usage and so forth.

More like manuals.

>
> Even if you accept my definitions as entirely true, there is still
> plenty of room for crossover, and it was exactly that fact I have in
> mind.
>
> I'm wondering about the possibility of converting some of the longer
> FedoraNEWS.ORG articles/tutorials into formal FDP guides.  I would
> envision something like this:
>
> 1. Identify FedoraNEWS.ORG tutorials which have momentum and scope to be
> maintainable for the long term.

There are a few I would like to do, I have a list of about 20 or so, but what 
with my son just arriving...

>
> 2. The author(s) either convert the content to FDP standard DocBook, or
> enlist the help of other FDP contributors to convert.  Once in DocBook,
> this is maintainable as the single source for all target systems,
> hopefully including FedoraNEWS.ORG.

Not hard. I agree with docbook for long term docs, but for short docs/howtos 
it can be a pain. We would need to write our own css/xslt to keep it within 
the FedoraNEW.ORG look/style also.

I bought a "Learning XML" O'reilly book for christmas (6 months ago) and most 
of the requirements are in there. Again, just the time.

>
> 3. Either the original author can continue maintaining, take on a joint
> maintainer from existing FDP writers, or hand over maintenance if there
> is someone interested in taking it on.

The bigger ones would benefit from a joint effort.

>
> It might be possible to stitch together several FedoraNEWS.ORG articles
> into one guide, for example a Fedora Yum Guide that includes how to
> configure and use yum, how to set up a repository, solutions for common
> problems, customizations, etc.  These could easily be rendered for FDP
> as one guide, and for FedoraNEWS.ORG as a series of short articles.
> Single source, multiple audiences.

Yes. I also think Alex's RPM is brilliant, and the tips section too.

>
> One of my goals is clear - to increase the quantity and usefulness of
> the FDP guides.  Hopefully there is something useful in here for the
> FedoraNEWS.ORG contributors.

I agree, and I will do as much as I can.

>
> I'm usually hanging out at #fedora-docs on irc.freenode.net, or can come
> over to #fedoranews.org for discussion.  I know licensing is one thing
> to cover; fortunately, a copyright holder can dual-license, so that is a
> solution.  So far, FDP docs are under the GNU FDL 1.2+ (e.g.
> http://fedora.redhat.com/participate/documentation-guide/ln-legalnotice.htm
>l).  Since the CC license used by FedoraNEWS.ORG allows it
> (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/1.0/), anyone could make a
> derivative work from FedoraNEWS.ORG articles, but it seems like a better
> idea to collaborate and single-source.

Again, agreed.

I hope I speak for the rest of the writers.

- -- 
Kind Regards,
Gavin Henry.

http://www.magicfx.co.uk
http://FedoraNEWS.ORG/ghenry
http://shorl.com/dokypyrirypa
http://www.suretecsystems.com
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