Re: 770 info in wiki Re: Has maemo-pc-connectivity been substituted by USB Networking applet (in control panel)?

2008-07-06 Thread Dave Neary
Hi,

Neil Jerram wrote:
> But the rest is arbitrary.  I see no need for separate pages, only
> clear section headings within the page.

Long pages full of technical information (most of which is not useful to
the reader) are intimidating, and give the impression of needing to be
an "expert" to achieve the task at hand.

It would be a return to the RTFM culture of the 90s when HOWTOs (which
were great if you had a basic idea what you were talking about) were the
pinacle of Linux documentation.

I'd hoped we'd progressed beyond that.

> That is you making a choice for yourself.  In the current discussion
> about wiki content, the debate is whether your proposal is best for
> the whole community, some of whom will have made different choices;
> not just for how you use your ITs.

My proposal is not to exclude people, but to ensure that the "main drag"
of the wiki stays clean, accessible, readable for a newbie, and
represents the most recent information available. Information about what
was the state of the art 3 years ago has its place, but it's not in the
middle of what is the state of the art now.

Cheers,
Dave.

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Re: 770 info in wiki Re: Has maemo-pc-connectivity been substituted by USB Networking applet (in control panel)?

2008-07-05 Thread Neil Jerram
2008/7/5 Dave Neary <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
>
> I speak not as a representative of Nokia, but as a documentation
> editor/organiser.
>
> One basic rule imposes itself: documentation should be useful to its
> reader. There's an eternal balance between "give the user the
> information he needs" and "be as complete as possible".
>
> Wiki pages where 10% of the information is useful to an OS2008 user
> ("Install package X") and 90% is useful to a 770 user ("Edit file Z, as
> root run "insmod Q", ...), then we need to make the page as simple as
> possible for the majority of our users (N800 + N810 users), and ensure
> that the "first principles" information is available to a 770 user,

All agreed with you up to here.

> but
> isn't in the same place as the useful information for the majority.
>
> That means that you have a first page targeted at OS2008 users, and a
> second page targeted at "legacy systems", which is in an appropriate
> category. The second page will *only* get linked to from the first page,
> and won't show up in your normal wiki navigation.

But the rest is arbitrary.  I see no need for separate pages, only
clear section headings within the page.

>> Please be careful with removing
>> 770/OS2006 or 2007(HE) information. Also people still use N800 with
>> OS2007, latest in not always greatest :-)
>
> Often, the first step for someone who has a problem with an N800 and
> OS2007 is "first, upgrade to OS2008". There was a time in my life when I
> didn't like throwing anything away, but as time has gone on, I realise
> that you have to make a choice. Some things you keep close at hand or
> put on the mantelpiece, some things get tidied away in boxes for the day
> when you might need them, and some things just have to go.

That is you making a choice for yourself.  In the current discussion
about wiki content, the debate is whether your proposal is best for
the whole community, some of whom will have made different choices;
not just for how you use your ITs.

Regards,
  Neil
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Re: 770 info in wiki Re: Has maemo-pc-connectivity been substituted by USB Networking applet (in control panel)?

2008-07-05 Thread Dave Neary
Hi,

Frantisek Dufka wrote:
> Dave Neary wrote:
>> Information
>> for older OSes or for the 770, should be (IMHO) a footnote at lest, or a
>> reference to an "archived" page which doesn't show up when browsing the
>> wiki normally.
> 
> Well, I would not be surprised to hear such opinion from @nokia.com but
> I am a bit surprised to hear this from @maemo.org :-)

I speak not as a representative of Nokia, but as a documentation
editor/organiser.

One basic rule imposes itself: documentation should be useful to its
reader. There's an eternal balance between "give the user the
information he needs" and "be as complete as possible".

Wiki pages where 10% of the information is useful to an OS2008 user
("Install package X") and 90% is useful to a 770 user ("Edit file Z, as
root run "insmod Q", ...), then we need to make the page as simple as
possible for the majority of our users (N800 + N810 users), and ensure
that the "first principles" information is available to a 770 user, but
isn't in the same place as the useful information for the majority.

That means that you have a first page targeted at OS2008 users, and a
second page targeted at "legacy systems", which is in an appropriate
category. The second page will *only* get linked to from the first page,
and won't show up in your normal wiki navigation.

> Please be careful with removing
> 770/OS2006 or 2007(HE) information. Also people still use N800 with
> OS2007, latest in not always greatest :-)

Often, the first step for someone who has a problem with an N800 and
OS2007 is "first, upgrade to OS2008". There was a time in my life when I
didn't like throwing anything away, but as time has gone on, I realise
that you have to make a choice. Some things you keep close at hand or
put on the mantelpiece, some things get tidied away in boxes for the day
when you might need them, and some things just have to go.

> Perhaps the newest stuff should be first but footnote or archived page
> is going too far IMO.
> 
> Can we tag pages or sections with OS/device names?

Please feel free to add pages to a 770 category, but don't categorise
pages targeted at the latest version. I'd like to keep the number of
categories we use in the wiki overall manageable.

Cheers,
Dave.

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Re: 770 info in wiki Re: Has maemo-pc-connectivity been substituted by USB Networking applet (in control panel)?

2008-07-04 Thread David Greaves
Frantisek Dufka wrote:
> Dave Neary wrote:
>> Information
>> for older OSes or for the 770, should be (IMHO) a footnote at lest, or a
>> reference to an "archived" page which doesn't show up when browsing the
>> wiki normally.
> 
> Nokia 770 is not dead. There are still plenty of users of 770. You can 
> still buy 770 new in a box on ebay and used devices change hands to new 
> users who need information too. Please be careful with removing 
> 770/OS2006 or 2007(HE) information. Also people still use N800 with 
> OS2007, latest in not always greatest :-)

I think one of the most important aspects of the OSS community is that it
provides support for the community *and the hardware it uses*.

I can compile a kernel for a 386 with some very old hardware (hell, only a
couple of years back I managed to read my Amstrad 2086 XT 20 Mb harddisk on a
modernish linux box with an AT slot); I can run OE on my SL5500;

Speaking as someone who would be next in line up against the wall with a
practically obsolete N800, I don't think the 770 should be 'archived' by
maemo.org, (even if Nokia decide to do so as it appears to have done with
Chinook and Diablo - correct me if I misunderstand).

Oh, and I think Nokia 'abandoning' the 770 is one of the *key* reasons to aim
for a fully open OS on the NIT.

> Perhaps the newest stuff should be first but footnote or archived page 
> is going too far IMO.
> 
> Can we tag pages or sections with OS/device names?
Yes, the 'Category' capability of the wiki allows you to do this - very useful.

David
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770 info in wiki Re: Has maemo-pc-connectivity been substituted by USB Networking applet (in control panel)?

2008-07-04 Thread Frantisek Dufka
Dave Neary wrote:
> Information
> for older OSes or for the 770, should be (IMHO) a footnote at lest, or a
> reference to an "archived" page which doesn't show up when browsing the
> wiki normally.

Well, I would not be surprised to hear such opinion from @nokia.com but 
I am a bit surprised to hear this from @maemo.org :-)

Nokia 770 is not dead. There are still plenty of users of 770. You can 
still buy 770 new in a box on ebay and used devices change hands to new 
users who need information too. Please be careful with removing 
770/OS2006 or 2007(HE) information. Also people still use N800 with 
OS2007, latest in not always greatest :-)

Perhaps the newest stuff should be first but footnote or archived page 
is going too far IMO.

Can we tag pages or sections with OS/device names?

Frantisek
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