Regarding independent doc efforts..

[Andreas Lloyd]

Hi Doc-Team,

I recently came across a few independent efforts at Ubuntu Documentation:

http://www.krazypenguin.net/Ubuntu_Dapper_Drake_6.06_Guide

http://monkeyblog.org/ubuntu/installing/

They both look good and have had a fair amount of time invested in them, so I took the opportunity to contact them and refer them to the Doc Team.

I don't know if the Doc-Team do this at all but I thought it might be worth it to contact these two while they're still so relatively new, and connect them with the Doc Team. Below is what I sent to them (this specific one is to Simon who maintains the "How to install /ANYTHING/ in Ubuntu!" guide.

What I would like to know is: How do you generally refer people to the Doc Team? And is there any sort of procedure for integrating independent work like this into the Documentation?

cheers,

Andreas

The mail I sent to them:

Hi Simon

I just found your guide "How to install /ANYTHING/ in Ubuntu!"

[http://monkeyblog.org/ubuntu/installing/] through a
link on the Ubuntu Web Forums. It looks really good and
thorough. It looks like you know a lot about Ubuntu, and that you are really
interested in helping new users in getting the best possible experience
with Ubuntu.

But I wonder if you are aware of the amount of similar information that
is available through the Ubuntu Wiki
[https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UserDocumentation] and at the Ubuntu
Documentation Website [http://help.ubuntu.com/]?

This information is written and maintained by the Ubuntu Documentation
Team which are volunteers working to help other users just like you. The
only difference is that they are working with the developers in the
Ubuntu project and coordinate their work so that the documentation and
help files matches Dapper as much as possible.

It is the Documentation Team that has written the Help guides available
in the System Menu under System Documentation, which is translated into
all the different languages that is supported by Ubuntu (and translated
through the Rosetta system [https://launchpad.net/rosetta]). The
Documentation Team also maintain the Ubuntu Wiki.

All of this is a lot of work, and they need all the help they can get.
My suggestion is that you join the Documentation Team, not only will you
get to work with friendly, like-minded people, but what you write will
be read and used many more people and be translated into dozens of
languages.

If you prefer to continue with your own page, please do. It looks good
and is informative. But if you really want to help make Ubuntu better,
join the Documentation Team and help make the official documentation and
wiki documents better!

You can contact the Documentation Team by mailinglist:

https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-doc

Or on IRC, the documentation team can be found in the #ubuntu-doc
channel on the irc.freenode.net server.

You can read more about the Documentation Team here:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DocumentationTeam/

I hope you will take the opportunity to contact them.

Best Regards,

Andreas Lloyd

(I'm not an official member of the Doc Team myself, I just contribute
there from time to time)