Proposed string freeze exceptions

[Matthew East]

Hi Dean,

I'm copying in ubuntu-translators and Jono for their respective input
on the various points below.

On Sun, Oct 4, 2009 at 11:30 PM, Dean Sas <dean at deansas.org> wrote:
> Matthew East wrote:
>> As usual right after string freeze our translators and other
>> eagle-eyed bug reporters have picked up some errors in the
>> documentation.
>
> Is there anything we can do to encourage people to look at the docs
> earlier?

It's a good question. Here are some ideas but people should feel free
to add others.

1. Since it's the translators who often pick up these items, we should
encourage translators to start working on the docs well before the
string freeze. The reality is that most of the work they need to do
can be started earlier without the work being wasted. And as you say,
the package is uploaded relatively regularly so the translations are
normally up to date. Do translators think this is realistic?

2. We could set up an automatic ppa upload with a package that is
always up to date. I don't know how to do this but I've seen that some
other teams have done so. That would need to be coupled with
invitations to testers...

3. For ubuntu-docs contributors, we should document how to set up a
virtualbox with the development version so that people can test
earlier. This page is ok, although a bit heavy on screenshots -
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/VirtualBox/FirstVM. There is a good
guide here - http://www.jonobacon.org/2009/07/29/running-karmic-in-a-virtual-machine/
- but it is copyrighted. Jono, can we have your permission to take
that article and put it in the help wiki under a cc-by-sa licence?

4. We could get the regular testing community involved in testing the
docs so that testing documentation is a part of the regular testing
regime - http://testcases.qa.ubuntu.com/

> I think perhaps we should have made more noise on the planets a month or
> so ago to ask people to review the documents as it is getting close to
> string freeze.

Agreed.

> Milo mentioned that he looked at the docs as part of the Global Jam. Is
> there a reason why the Jam is held when it is - after the archive is
> frozen/slushy and before the ubuntu+1 archive is open?

No idea! Jono?

-- 
Matthew East
http://www.mdke.org
gnupg pub 1024D/0E6B06FF