Ubuntu docs and Unity docs

[Jim Campbell]

Hi All,

Several of us discussed the Ubuntu docs while at the GNOME documentation
hackfest in Toronto. We want to contribute to Ubuntu and Unity docs, but see
some issues with re-using content from upstream GNOME, and even see some
issues with re-using content from the current ubuntu-docs package.

Docs written for GNOME wouldn't be able to be included in Unity proper due
to the copyright assignment issue, and I don't even think that the current
help.ubuntu.com docs could be included in Unity proper (due to the same
issue).

We talked extensively about ways to get around this.  I thought of something
today that might work:
-- create a core set of docs that deal with using Unity itself. These docs
would be in Unity proper, and would be subject to the Canonical contributor
agreement.  These docs would need to focus on using Unity itself in a way
that would be appropriate for anyone that is shipping Unity (fedora,
opensuse, . . . whoever).  These downstreams could then plug-in an
additional user help as appropriate.
-- have a separate ubuntu-unity docs (essentially, the ubuntu-docs) package
that is not subject to the Canonical contributor agreement. These docs would
get installed to the same directory as the Unity docs at install time. This
essentially makes the Ubuntu docs a downstream package of Unity docs . . .
as if Ubuntu itself were a downstream distributor of Unity.

Having the separate docs package would allow us to reuse some of the Gnome
help, would allow us to re-use the current help from the ubuntu-docs package
(help.ubuntu.com . . .  and even ubuntu-manual work?), but would provide an
integrated help experience for users.

What I've described above would involve using Mallard, but I wouldn't see
the Ubuntu Server Guide switching over to Mallard.

Jim
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