help content redux

[John Fleck <jfleck inkstain net>]

Folks -

Pat's note to the list this morning made me realize we need a
more concrete plan for updating our user documentation for GNOME 2
than the vague "let's convert docs as soon as the apps are ready" way
we've been doing this.

The targets keep moving, which is why I have avoided trying to push
people into spending too much time converting documentation for
GNOME2. But deadlines are sufficiently near that we need to be sure
things do not slip through the cracks.

There are three lists we need to be looking at:

I. The schedule:

   http://developer.gnome.org/dotplan/schedule/

   The key deadlines here are:

   Dec. 21 - UI freeze
   Jan. 23 - GNOME 2.0 Release Candidate 1 packages due
   Feb. 15 - GNOME 2.0 Final release

II. The packages

   http://developer.gnome.org/dotplan/modules/
   
   The "Desktop" section is what we're interested in. That's what will
   be ported to the GNOME 2 libraries for inclusion in the GNOME 2
   release. The web page gives an idea of the porting status of
   various apps.

III. Stuff Sun is Documenting

   John Sheehan prepared a list of the applications Sun is
   documenting, which I've appended below.[1] Sun's plan is to make their
   documentation available for the GNOME community release.

   My feeling is that we should use Sun documentation where we are
   able - it's high quality and it will be well translated. But we're
   not going to ram it down anyone's throat - if you've been the
   author of a doc and prefer to use your own in GNOME 2, we're not
   going to force you to replace your work with Sun's. John makes that
   point pretty clearly in his message below.

Up until now, we've been pretty laissez faire about the GNOME 2 doc
preparations. Individual documenters signed up to do documentation
for the various apps in the past should still retain that
responsibility as far as I'm concerned. But to make sure things don't
slip through the cracks, I'd like to propose that we get a core group
of GDP folks to crack heads and make sure stuff gets done.

In October I sent out a list of stuff to be done that included the
following suggestion, which I'll repeat:
 
  "We need someone to ride herd over the docs for each of
  the main packages in GNOME 2.0, to make sure documentation work is
  coordinated with the developers and translators, that the review and
  QA processes are completed, and that the work gets done on time.

  gnome-core - Volunteer needed
  gnome-applets - Volunteer needed
  gnome-games - Volunteer needed
  gnome-utils - John Fleck
  Nautilus - Dan Mueth
  gnome-user-docs - Dan Mueth"

It met with a deafening silence, but I'll repeat it here. Can we get a
few people willing to take responsibiility for these packages to be
sure the work gets done? That means coordinating with the developers,
with the Sun people in cases where Sun documentation is involved, and
with the original authors.

Cheers,

John Fleck


[1] From John Sheehan at Sun:
************************************************************
We'd be very keen to contribute apps documentation.  Our hope
is to complete all those app docs that will be in the community 
core and that will also be in the Sun product.

I enclose 3 lists:

  1.  Those apps which we have documented or expect to document.

  2.  Those apps which are in the proposed community 2.0 core
      and which we do not intend to document.

  3.  Those apps which are in the existing 1.4 core but are
      not in the proposed 2.0 core and which we defintely will 
      not document.  I include this list in case the proposed 
      2.0 core expands to include some of the dropped apps

Our ability to deliver the apps in the first list in time for
inclusion in the GNOME community release depends on:

  - whether the community core definition changes.

  - whether the defined community core all gets ported.

  - the number of functional changes in core apps which
    would require changes to documentation done so far.

  - how much time we have to complete documentation between 
    first full beta and FCS.

  - converting to XML and new title pages, and getting agreement
    from original maintainers to replace their document.

  - whether our user guide can replace the existing online
    GNOME User Guide.  If so, we would like to change the target
    of many of the Help buttons so that they point to within
    the user guide.  This would be for Help for the Panel,
    Menu Editor, Control Centre, Launchers, Run button, etc.

Having listed some of the issues we face, let me emphasise that
we are determined to try and get all the apps in the first list 
completed in time for the community FCS. 

Regards

John

---------------------------------------------------------------

List 1.  

1a. Core apps we expect to complete for community FCS


   Programs    Nautilus       - from the user guide
               gedit          - written
               Startup Hint   - not started
               Gdict          - not started
               Calculator     - written
               Character Map  - written
               Color Browser  - written
               Font Selector  - written
               Ghostview      - written
               Sound Recorder - not started
               CD player      - in progress
               Control Centre - from the user guide
               Menu Editor    - from the user guide
               GNOME terminal - written
               Shutdown/reboot- in progress
               System Info    - in progress
               Sys Log monitor- in progress
               Gperfmeter     - not started (new Sun utility)
               Gprocview      - not started (new Sun utility)

   Applets     Fish           - not started
               geyes          - written
               Clock          - written
               CD player      - in progress
               Mixer          - in progress
               Sound Monitor  - not started
               Clock & Mail   - not started
               Stock Ticker   - not started
               Deskguide      - in progress
               Printer        - not started
               Tasklist       - written
               Character Pick - written
               GNOME weather  - in progress
               Mini-commander - written
               ScreenShooter  - written
               Whereami       - written
               gdict          - not started

   Panel       Help Buttons   - from the user guide


1b.  Non-core apps 

     Documentation was started for some apps/applets which were 
     in the 1.4 core but which have been dropped from the 2.0
     core.  Sun may or may not include these in its 2.0 release.

               Ghex           - written
               Time Tracker   - written
               Eye of GNOME   - written
               Gnotes applet  - written
               Quicklaunch    - written
               Webcontrol     - in progress


---------------------------------------------------------------

List 2.  2.0 core apps we will not document

Programs       Bug Report tool
               GNOME Searchtool
               Stripchart plotter
               gfloppy
               All games
               xmms           - too much work at present

               
Applets        Fifteen
               Game of Life
               Odometer

---------------------------------------------------------------

List 3.  1.4 core apps which we will not document even if they are
         included in the 2.0 core 

Programs       GNOME diskfree
               User listing
               Text File Viewer
               All monitor applets
               Another clock
               JBC Binary clock

---------------------------------------------------------------

-- 
John Fleck
jfleck inkstain net (h), http://www.inkstain.net/fleck/
"A M00se once bit my sister..."