Basically, I think this is a good idea. If we can manage to get a small group of people together to author this, and find a way to sell the manual at a price that is both attractive to the buyers and high enough, so that all contributors can get paid for the work they put in, we have a winner.
Maybe publishing directly via Amazon would do the trick? With several people working on the script, We can just cut out all middle men, like editors, of the traditional publishing chain. Personally, I will only be able to contribute after the release of gvSIG CE 1.0. Up to that point, I will be too busy with the actual software. Cheers, Ben On 10/21/2011 06:23 AM, karsten wrote: > Hi José, > > I understand the comments Ben made and I agree that there are limited > resources. I also agree that it is frustrating for users when > documentation is not available. I have been stuck with great pieces of > OS software (and proprietary ones as well ) due a lack for documentation > (even in the internet and Google age :) ). I think that it is virtually > impossible to create - and even more important to maintain - good > documentation in the long term without any funding sources. Thus, let > me introduce how I am going about documentation not specific to one > software pieces but in the case of OS web mapping. I am running a small > GIS consulting business in Seattle USA for the last 5 years, and I have > been offering and teaching classes for OS Web GIS with MapServer, > PostGIS and OpenLayers professionally for the last 3 years ( 4 classes > total, see http://www.terragis.net/gis-classes/os-web-gis ) . Over the > years the class manual grew and now I am planning to publish it as a > stand alone booklet and sell it. Yes sell it. However, I am planning to > donate 50% of my authors process to OSGEO, (or our local chapter here in > Seattle CUGOS www.cugos.org which will is in the process of becoming a > non-profit itself). The other 50% of my share of the proceeds will use > for funding the advancement and maintenance in the long term of the > document. FYI the document is written and in the process of being edited > and will be about 150-200 pages in the new format. The whole point why I > am mentioning this is that I myself was frustrated with documentation > for some pieces of software and especially in the long term the > maintenance of already existing documentations often (usually) do not > work out too well in reality (mostly they just don't with some > exceptions). Thus I am proposing to use the same approach and to put > together a small but dedicated group of people to write a gvSIG (CE ?) > booklet that can be funded and maintained in a similar way outlined > above . I am ready to participate . José ? Ruth? Victor ? Others ? Who > is ready to join ? > > Thoughts ? > > Cheers > > Karsten > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > *From:*José Antonio Canalejo Alonso [mailto:[email protected]] > *Sent:* Thursday, October 20, 2011 1:09 PM > *To:* gvsigce-users; gvsigce-community > *Subject:* [Gvsigce-community] Tutorials and Videos > > Hello all, > what do you think about something like this (http://geo.ideaplus.com.br)? > I like it very much. The only problem is the mix of languages (english, > spanish, portuguese). > Between 2007 and 2009 we were working with a group of volunteers > (http://www.gvsig.org/web/community/agradecimientos/traductores/) > translating the handbook of gvSIG 1.1.2 into german. The whole manual > was translated and it "should" be available behind this link > (http://www.gvsig.org/web/projects/gvsig-desktop/docs/user/gvsig-desktop-1-1-manual-de-usuario/gvsig-desktop-1-1-manual-de-usuario/not_available_lang/view?set_language=de). > It took a long time to be finished. We wrote a document to explain the > people how they could edit the plone themselves. At the end most of them > sent us their translations because they didn't find time to edit the > plone and we had to edit it ourselves with one or two volunteers. Screen > shots were not translated into german and actually, AFAIK no one is > doing the translation into german of 1.9 (1.10 or 1.11). > People expect to have the software with handbooks, manuals and tutorials > but it is difficult (not impossible) to find funding for this. > One of the major difficulties of open source projects is the lack of > documentation. Handbooks and tutorials are often done many months after > the version is released. > So we have to look for a solution. On the web you will find a lot of > videos and tutorials like the link mentioned above. Users like to make > these kind of tutorials. They don't need instructions and they can work > autonomous. We have a software with more than 800 functionalities (even > more now with R-Sextante Interface: > http://sextantegis.blogspot.com/2011/10/r.html). We are testing them and > simultaneously we could make small tutorials and put them in a common > gvSIG CE platform (wiki, google sites, ... and whatever related web > solutions people would like to bring up). We could provide a template > with gvSIG CE layout to make it nice and easy for authors. We could > include author's name and contact e-mail address to promote their work > with the project. It is better to have a common platform than thousands > links on the web (oft with the same information) > I think it is a good way to bring different people together to exchange > thoughts and know How. > What do you think about? > Best regards! > Jose > > -- > José Antonio Canalejo Alonso > gvSIG CE Team > www.gvsigce.org > Get involved! > > > > > > > ======= > Email scanned by PC Tools - No viruses or spyware found. > (Email Guard: 7.0.0.27, Virus/Spyware Database: 6.18550) > http://www.pctools.com <http://www.pctools.com/?cclick=EmailFooterClean_51> > ======= > > > > > > > ======= > Email scanned by PC Tools - No viruses or spyware found. > (Email Guard: 7.0.0.27, Virus/Spyware Database: 6.18560) > http://www.pctools.com <http://www.pctools.com/?cclick=EmailFooterClean_51> > ======= > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > The demand for IT networking professionals continues to grow, and the > demand for specialized networking skills is growing even more rapidly. > Take a complimentary Learning@Cisco Self-Assessment and learn > about Cisco certifications, training, and career opportunities. > http://p.sf.net/sfu/cisco-dev2dev > > > > _______________________________________________ > Gvsigce-community mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/gvsigce-community -- Benjamin Ducke {*} Geospatial Consultant {*} GIS Developer [email protected] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The demand for IT networking professionals continues to grow, and the demand for specialized networking skills is growing even more rapidly. Take a complimentary Learning@Cisco Self-Assessment and learn about Cisco certifications, training, and career opportunities. http://p.sf.net/sfu/cisco-dev2dev _______________________________________________ Gvsigce-community mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/gvsigce-community
