Re: Introduction

[Shaun McCance <shaunm gnome org>]

On Thu, 2011-08-04 at 02:23 +0100, Paul Weaver wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I've recently finished my university studies, and so have some free time
> on my hands. I'd quite like to contribute towards the GNOME project,
> particularly to the documentation as I have yet to gain much real-world
> programming experience. I'm not quite sure where to start though!
> 
> I've downloaded the latest Evolution help, as announced in Andre
> Klapper's email on Monday, so have had a look at the Mallard xml. I'm
> good at editing for clarity and proof-reading, but not so confident
> about diving straight in and writing content on my own! Any suggestions
> of where to direct my efforts would be most helpful.

Hi Paul,

Welcome aboard. Most people here didn't come in with a professional
technical writing background. We've all learned from each other and
from other open source documentation teams.

Reviewing and editing is a great place to start. Some people aren't
native English speakers, and while they're good at organizing and
explaining, sometimes awkward language can creep in. Reading what's
there already is also a good way to get a feel for the GNOME style.

You can always ask questions on the list. Or hop on IRC on the #docs
channel on irc.gnome.org:

http://live.gnome.org/DocumentationProject/Contact

I'm usually there, but I'm heading to the Desktop Summit tomorrow,
so I won't be around quite as much for the next two weeks.

--
Shaun