>
>
>Perhaps my efforts with the 'docforge' (I'm really liking that name) idea would be better targeted
>toward techies who know how to communicate information to non-geeks or who, to turn your example
>around, want to contribute their understanding of a program's use to it's betterment but don't
>want to spend the time, effort and, for a first time author, probably money nescessary to try and
>publish what they have to say through traditional channels. Which brings us to another well-made
>point: The interface is key.
>
(sigh) There's a docforge project on SourceForge. Another exotic XML
scheme, but no docs.
I am always happy to publish/index docs @ docs.linux.com, you know.
We've had no budget for the site, which may change shortly. That was
expensive as bleep to run when it was done "by the community," you know.
Well, you probably don't, but I do. And I know the costs of running
SourceForge.net, too. Even though we've now laid most of the ftp
download bandwidth off on university mirrors (and ibiblio, which has a
nice endowment fund), it's still OSDN's biggest economic burden. Our
sites make a small profit overall, but I'll tell you... from a purely
business "shareholder value" perspective, SouceForge.net makes no
sense. Our other sites support it. It's a worthwhile endeavor, and we'll
keep it going no matter what. But it's a pain. I have some ideas about
how to make it pay its own way, but it would take a major VA
restructuring, and editors don't have that kind of authority. There's a
Board of Directors meeting in June... maybe we'll see some changes. And
maybe not. I don't run the place. "I just work here."
Reality = much modern Linux/Open Source/Free Software development has
been sponsored and promoted by VA/Andover. I'm a hardhead who likes to
take in more money than we spend, and now that the dot.com tulip-style
madness is over, we actually have to do that -- and we do somehow, in
large part because we have a great and dedicated ad sales team, and OSDN
general manager Richard French is a great guy who manages to hold things
together somehow.
We have the publishing structure on Linux.com, but have no time/energy
to use it as well as we should. If you want to write useful docs,
instead of talking about it, I'll happily edit and publish them -
licensed/copyrighted however you like. The point to me is to just put
them out there in a searchable database, not to grab any kind of
"'exclusive" rights to anything. Republish wherever you like. That's
fine too.
I'd love to see a simple person's guide on how to set up Moz plugins for
every conceivable mime type... I've never seen a good one...
>I certainly the idea of basing revisions for the 2nd edition of a book on an open feedback system,
>by the way.
>
Actually, I'm basing the *first* edition on feedback from people who've
heard my "6 basic Linux commands" stump speech (that I usually give in
front of non-Linux audiences), plus what you and others are saying, plus
I'll write an "Ask Slashdot" and/or NewsForge article to get an idea of
what 15 or 20 programs I should concentrate on most heavily.
And now, as Samuel Pepys used to say, "So to bed."
- Robin
PS - You can now read Pepy's Diary online in weblog format, with
comments and annotations. I read it almost every day.
http://www.pepysdiary.com/
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