I'm not sure if an annual release cycle will work much better. We still have the time issues. We can only really start early when we know about upcoming changes - for example we can get started on Unity stat.
On Sun, 2010-10-31 at 17:44 -0500, Kevin Godby wrote: > Hey, Ben. > > On Sun, Oct 31, 2010 at 4:50 PM, Benjamin Humphrey <[email protected]> > wrote: > * snip * > > Rather than see the team disintegrate, which would be terrible, I > > figure we need to slim our goals down a bit and perhaps give us a > > greater time span to work in. Hence I propose one (or both) of the > > following: > > > > * Not releasing the manual for every release, but perhaps only .04 > > releases (yearly) or only LTS releases (every two years). > > * Releasing only in English, at least until we have a better > > infrastructure for translations > > > > My preference would be the first option. I feel that it's not > > necessary for us to have a new manual every 6 months, what with the > > large amount of documentation and support elsewhere and the fact that > > not enough changes every six months to justify a new book. I think > > that having our material in other languages is important, but it's > > difficult to coordinate such a mammoth task when we have very limited > > infrastructure for translation this amount of text. > > > > I believe if we toned down our lofty release goals, we'll have more > > time to work on things like the Support and Learning Center, the > > personas, quickstart booklets and other things, giving us a better, > > more complete and concise product overall, even if it was released > > less regularly. > > I don't think that releasing less frequently (given that we'd release > a new manual at most every six months) would help. We have to wait > until after UI freeze before we can take screenshots and update some > of the text. So there will always be a mad frenzy of work required > between the UI freeze and the Ubuntu release date. > > We could, however, postpone the manual releases until, say, a month > after the release of Ubuntu. That would provide authors, editors, > translators, etc. some time to get the released version installed so > they can help double-check the text of the manual and take > screenshots. > > I think there are two fundamental problems that we've encountered > during the Maverick cycle: (1) a cumbersome process and (2) a lack of > an editor to keep track of the progress, keep everyone on task, and > keep moving things forward. > > First, an overview of our current process. > > Would-be authors and editors have a number of hurdles that they must surmount: > > 1. They must download TeX Live 2010 from the TeX Live site directly as > the Ubuntu packages are inadequate. > 2. They must download our manual's source files from the bzr repository. > 3. They must acquaint themselves with bzr, LaTeX, and our particular > LaTeX commands. > 4. They must be willing to run pre-release versions of Ubuntu. > > Translators also have a rough time: > > 1. They must wait until all of the English text has been written and > uploaded to Launchpad/Rosetta. > 2. They must acquaint themselves with the translation rules for all of > our LaTeX code. > 3. In addition, translation editors share the same burdens as the authors > above. > > Throughout this process, there is no easy way for someone to see > what's already been achieved and what's yet to be done for the current > release. Subsequently, it's difficult for newcomers to figure out how > they can help. > > This brings me to the second problem we encountered during the > Maverick cycle: the lack of an editor. > > I think the manual needs an editor-in-chief whose job it is to manage > the activity of the authors, editors, and translators. This editor > would track the progress of the manual throughout the release cycle, > ensure that progress is being made, assist newcomers, and, in general, > manage the release process. > > Now a few words on how I'd like to see the process improved. > > I'd like to replace our current workflow (LaTeX, bzr, etc.) with > something that allows for more ad-hoc, drive-by writing, editing, and > translating. Someone should be able to pop in, spare five minutes of > their time, and help us write, edit, or translate a paragraph -- > without having to download gigabytes of files first. > > It should be easy for everyone to see the progress and status of the > manual (and its translations) and to find a task they can help with. > > I'm happy to discuss this in more detail, but it may be better suited > for a different thread. > > --Kevin > > _______________________________________________ > Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-manual > Post to : [email protected] > Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-manual > More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
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