Re: [libreoffice-documentation] Mallard vs Alfresco
On Fri, 2011-04-29 at 23:13 +0100, Tom Davies wrote: > > I thought ODFauthors was an alternative way that anyone could use to work on > our > documentation and that which-ever system was used it would be wise for people > to > say which docs they have worked on to keep the list informed? So, i have > assumed that OOo people could "get stuck in right away" and then gradually > get > used to Alfresco at their own pace? For user guide chapters, it's more complicated than that, given the collaborative nature of the work. Certainly if someone is writing a draft, particularly of a more stand-alone document that isn't already in the Alfresco system, they could store it on ODFAuthors during development without confusing others. But people updating, reviewing and editing existing docs would need more coordination if they weren't all working on the same platform, and things could potentially get very confusing very quickly. One possible scenario for anyone who seriously wants to stay on ODFAuthors is to ask someone to check out docs from Alfresco for them to work on and check those docs back in again when the work has been done. I've done that on occasion for people who have had difficulties with access to the ODFAuthors site; it's not ideal, but it works. Not that I am recommending that approach. The ODFAuthors alternative is more viable for whole groups, such as the Spanish or German group, who choose to use that platform exclusively. --Jean -- Unsubscribe instructions: E-mail to documentation+h...@libreoffice.org Posting guidelines + more: http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette List archive: http://listarchives.libreoffice.org/www/documentation/ All messages sent to this list will be publicly archived and cannot be deleted
Re: [libreoffice-documentation] Mallard vs Alfresco
From: Jean Weber To: "documentation@libreoffice.org" Sent: Fri, 29 April, 2011 22:41:33 Subject: Re: [libreoffice-documentation] Mallard vs Alfresco On 30/04/2011, at 5:45 AM, Tom Davies wrote: > Hi :) > I have been worrying about there not being enough people doing the actual > work > in LibreOffice Documentation Team, particularly since finding that 2 of the > hardest workers are in fact just 1 person! > > I was wondering about putting a call out to the Ubuntu Documentation Team to >see > > if we could attract a couple of them over here? They have just been > exploring > different tools for writing documentation and settled on Mallard a few months > ago. I don't think Alfresco came up in their discussions. Is Alfresco > similar > > enough to Mallard to make transition easy for them if they join us/you? Now > we > > have documentation about using Alfresco it should be easier for them and > anyway > > Alfresco looks intuitive enough that they should be able to "get it" with >gentle > > nudges? > > Would it be too cheeky to ask them? It would probably help them to work at > documentation upstream, here. Their translation teams are often encouraged > to > work upstream but those teams don't seem to work closely with their > documentation team but they might be familiar with the idea, maybe. Another good potential source of members is the OOo docs team, who have the advantage of being familiar with the base product. They may not want to make the switch from the ODFAuthors platform to Alfresco, but to me that's a trivial difference of tools. If it's a show stopper for anyone, there are ways around the problem. IMO, we should not let our choice of platform dictate who can participate, if they are otherwise interested and capable. Also, I strongly believe (based on positive experience with OOo docs) that people who are not native English speakers can be extremely valuable members of the English team. The only place where native speakers may have an advantage is at the copy editing stage (which some incorrectly call proofreading). The biggest lack IMO is people who can and will do reviews for content accuracy, and high English skills are not necessary for that work. IMO we should be encouraging these people to participate, not discouraging them. Lastly, we need more than just user guides, and not all of our docs needs are best managed through Alfresco. For example, FAQs may be better managed on the wiki, and in the past assistance had been requested for website text. As for the Ubuntu docs people, I don't think it's cheeky to ask them. Jean Hi :) Thanks. I might ask Ubuntu-Docs tomorrow although i have a feeling they might not respond quickly anyway. I thought ODFauthors was an alternative way that anyone could use to work on our documentation and that which-ever system was used it would be wise for people to say which docs they have worked on to keep the list informed? So, i have assumed that OOo people could "get stuck in right away" and then gradually get used to Alfresco at their own pace? My own feeling about non-English people writing documentation largely concurs with Jean's except that i think it's friendlier and perhaps sexier sometimes when there is a hint of foreign, exotic lands. Even tho it seems to contradict Jean's point I do also agree with someone else that said something about it making it more difficult for later edits when people write in a language that is not their 1st. However there are many and frequent exceptions to that. I think the trick is to be more relaxed about those final edits and to sometimes let a hint of 'foreign' magic slip through. Later revisions are likely to smooth those out anyway. Regards from Tom :) -- Unsubscribe instructions: E-mail to documentation+h...@libreoffice.org Posting guidelines + more: http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette List archive: http://listarchives.libreoffice.org/www/documentation/ All messages sent to this list will be publicly archived and cannot be deleted
Re: [libreoffice-documentation] Mallard vs Alfresco
On 30/04/2011, at 5:45 AM, Tom Davies wrote: > Hi :) > I have been worrying about there not being enough people doing the actual > work > in LibreOffice Documentation Team, particularly since finding that 2 of the > hardest workers are in fact just 1 person! > > I was wondering about putting a call out to the Ubuntu Documentation Team to > see > if we could attract a couple of them over here? They have just been > exploring > different tools for writing documentation and settled on Mallard a few months > ago. I don't think Alfresco came up in their discussions. Is Alfresco > similar > enough to Mallard to make transition easy for them if they join us/you? Now > we > have documentation about using Alfresco it should be easier for them and > anyway > Alfresco looks intuitive enough that they should be able to "get it" with > gentle > nudges? > > Would it be too cheeky to ask them? It would probably help them to work at > documentation upstream, here. Their translation teams are often encouraged > to > work upstream but those teams don't seem to work closely with their > documentation team but they might be familiar with the idea, maybe. Another good potential source of members is the OOo docs team, who have the advantage of being familiar with the base product. They may not want to make the switch from the ODFAuthors platform to Alfresco, but to me that's a trivial difference of tools. If it's a show stopper for anyone, there are ways around the problem. IMO, we should not let our choice of platform dictate who can participate, if they are otherwise interested and capable. Also, I strongly believe (based on positive experience with OOo docs) that people who are not native English speakers can be extremely valuable members of the English team. The only place where native speakers may have an advantage is at the copy editing stage (which some incorrectly call proofreading). The biggest lack IMO is people who can and will do reviews for content accuracy, and high English skills are not necessary for that work. IMO we should be encouraging these people to participate, not discouraging them. Lastly, we need more than just user guides, and not all of our docs needs are best managed through Alfresco. For example, FAQs may be better managed on the wiki, and in the past assistance had been requested for website text. As for the Ubuntu docs people, I don't think it's cheeky to ask them. --Jean -- Unsubscribe instructions: E-mail to documentation+h...@libreoffice.org Posting guidelines + more: http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette List archive: http://listarchives.libreoffice.org/www/documentation/ All messages sent to this list will be publicly archived and cannot be deleted
