get the facts: Ship XML or HTML? That is the question.

[Henrik Nilsen Omma]

Sean Wheller wrote:

>Recent discussions around help viewers has resulted in much confusion, 
>miscommunication and division. The disarray and division is both internal to 
>the Ubuntu documentation team and external with a few influential individuals 
>in the development team. The root cause for this disarray begins and ends 
>with myself. I made what I now see is a controversial decision to ship Ubuntu 
>Documents as HTML instead of XML. when I made this decision, it was not 
>without due diligence or consultation with the community, but I now see that 
>people either have not understood my previous communications or have 
>forgotten the discussion we have had in the past. For whatever reason, not 
>understanding the reasoning behind this decision, people have jumped to all 
>sorts of conclusions and mixed a number of issues. The outcome of all this 
>has resulted in some members of the Ubuntu Documentation team wanting to hold 
>a technical board meeting in order to decide whether or not Ubuntu documents 
>should be shipped as XML or HTML. Recent conversation has failed to change 
>the position of these members.
>
>I am not convinced that we need a technical board meeting to decide this 
>matter, I would much rather this decision be made internal to the team. I do 
>not see the need to invoke structures such as the technical board without 
>good cause. However, people want to go ahead with a technical board which 
>leaves me with little choice but to go with the flow on this one. So here is 
>a document that, I hope, will convey not only my logic for not wanting a 
>technical board meeting but also my reasoning for wanting to ship ubuntu 
>documents in HTML as apposed to XML.
>  
>
Sean,

You give as your interpretation for why there is still controversy
around the HTML/XML issue as 'people either have not understood my
previous communications or have forgotten the discussion we have had in
the past'. This is first of all an insult to those who have independent
views on the subject and also missing the point. People are upset
because you have 'made a decision'. I'm sorry, but you are not in a
position to make unilateral decisions on behalf of the doc team. I
suggest you get out of that habit and refrain from phrasing things in
that way in the future if you want to have a fruitful discussion with
the rest of the team

As it happens, I tend to agree with your view that we should prepare the
documentation in HTML but I also want to coordinate that with the
Technical Board. I do not see the wisdom in your actively lobbying for
us to avoid contact and consultation with other parts of the ubuntu
community. The doc team needs more collaboration and integration with
the rest, not less.

I will not comment on the technical point of your document because I
feel there is a more important point to be made here about community
spirit and integration.

>I hope this document has explained my actions and position on the topic. I 
>welcome discussion and questions. If the community still feel the need to 
>invoke a technical board, I shall respect that decision and, in the event of 
>a motion in favor of shipping XML, I trust that the community will respect my 
>choice to abstain from the project.
>  
>
You are basically saying in your conclusion that either the technical
decision would go your way or you will take your ball elsewhere to play.
I might just remind you that when we last spoke on the phone you
confirmed to me that you had _already_ left the team and that your
decision was final. If the threat that you will leave is he concluding
argument in your document, I must say that it seems a bit of an empty
threat considering that you have already left.

- Henrik