Direction of the Ubuntu system docs

[Phil Bull]

Hi Tom,

On Thu, 2010-12-23 at 08:55 +0000, Tom Davies wrote:
> I really like the sound of this.  Making the more proprietary stuff
> into an SEP (=Somebody Else's Problem) while still providing
> contributor-friendly documentation would be an ideal way to go.
[...]
> A centralised place for documentation covering all the different
> distros  (eventually) might help us keep documentation safe.  Pages
> such as; 
[...]

I'm not so sure about this. Keeping the documentation secure and open
for contributors to work on is important, but we also need to think
about our users! For me, the most important thing is that users can
access the docs in a useful, easy way. Centralising everything online,
across distros, may be great for contributors, but I think it will
confuse users and make it more difficult for them to find what they're
looking for. In the first instance, you'd have to help them figure out
just what distro they're using. In doing that, you've already alienated
a load of people! I believe that docs available instantly, through the
UI, are more useful in most cases.

> The Document Foundation might not be able to help in this way but it
> has the advantage of being an existing organisation with a wide range
> of organisations and individuals supporting it.

There's already something along the same lines: FLOSS Manuals [1]. They
have some good stuff, but I just don't think it's the most useful way of
doing spontaneous user assistance.

> I really like the way the Community Documentation is laid out despite
> the flaws.  I like the way people are freely able to make significant
> contributions without necessarily being forced into joining a team.  A
> lot of us enjoy the benefits of having OCD or Asperger's 'Disorder' or
> have low self-esteem or lean towards "House MD" way of thinking and
> find it difficult to negotiate with 'superiors' or even peers
> assertively (rather than passive-aggressive and/or being
> manipulative).  The Community Documentation allows us to contribute
> and help over-see each other's work to prevent pages getting
> subverted.  A good win-win.

I agree. One of the best things about open source is that anyone can
join in.

> The questions i have are
> 1. Would now be a good time to move/fork our various types of
> documentation to elsewhere?

I don't think so, for the reasons I mentioned above. And also, that some
other effort would be started in our place, and our docs would cease to
be relevant (c.f. the Ubuntu Manual).

> 2. If so, would we want to move/fork to an existing documentation
> project?
> 3. Would we want or need Cannonical's support for such a move?

We wouldn't need Canonical's support. Anyone is free to fork the Ubuntu
Docs, as they are, at any time. The only restriction is that they can't
relicense them.

> Personally i would take the ostrich route.  I do believe that any move
> towards making documentation proprietary in any way would only be a
> temporary move but i can imagine that lasting tooo long for most of
> us.

Thanks,

Phil

[1] - http://en.flossmanuals.net/

-- 
Phil Bull
https://launchpad.net/~philbull
Book - http://nostarch.com/ubuntu4.htm