================== New OSWG Website ================== After staying up well past my bedtime for a few too many nights in a row, I'm pleased to announce that the new Open Source Writers Group website is live and ready for action: http://www.oswg.org The front page is a slashdot-like "weblog" where news and announcements about Open Source documentation and relevant issues can be posted. These front page stories are moderated for appropriateness, and will be edited for typos/spelling, etc. You can also register as an OSWG volunteer through a handy web form. If you were listed on the old OSWG site, I ask that you go to the new site and add a new listing for yourself. A number of the old volunteer bios are now out of date, so I'd like to get a fresh list in the new database. Here's the volunteer registration form: http://www.oswg.org:8080/oswg/query/volunteer_registration_form Open Source projects can also register (to indicate their need for documentation volunteers) using a similar web-based interface. Eventually, I'll be building a "projects/volunteers" cross-referencing system so it will be easier for people to find projects they're interested in (and vice versa). The projects registration form can be found here: http://www.oswg.org:8080/oswg/query/project_registration_form ================================= Open Source Documentation Index ================================= I would also like to announce the Open Source Documentation Index (OSDI). The OSDI is actually part of the new OSWG site. You can find more details about this here: http://www.oswg.org:8080/oswg/949297859/index_html Comments are welcome, volunteers are even more welcome :) Indexing is (to be frank) a bit of a pain in the butt. I did manage to create over 250 entries in the last few days, however, so if we could get a small team of volunteers together, we could do some pretty amazing work in a relatively short period of time. (No, I wouldn't ever expect anyone to do that many entries in that amount of time, don't worry :) Why don't I just let Jane-Random-User create index entries? Well, because I'd like for us to maintain a certain level of quality control in the index. Indexers will have the opportunity to decide whether a document is appropriate for inclusion, to categorize it properly, and to enter a concise but informative abstract. Additionally, if they wish, indexers will have first crack at entering a comment/review for the entry, so if the document is hideously out of date, s/he can mention that in the first comment. Future users (or the document's author) can provide comments later if the document is updated or improved. The comments are listed in reverse order, so the newest comments are always at the top. As you might suspect, I have lots of plans for the index and for the site in general. I think it's at a "usable" stage at this point, however, and I'd like to start getting the word out. I will be enhancing sections as I get the time, and if you have any suggestions about how any of it can improved, please let me know. The OSWG lists have been disconcertingly quiet lately, and I'm just not of the "silence means consent" school. I would really appreciate your feedback and input. - deb -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
