<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
</head>
<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<p>Welcome Brian.</p>
<p>I think you are suggesting excellent approaches to improving QGIS
docs, which aligns with Jared's recommendations and suggestions
from some of the other volunteers here. My variant on the same
theme is at [1].</p>
<p>Matteo, Harrissou, With the momentum we are building, I think we
have potential to grow QGIS documentation into new areas and
expand the QGIS documentation roadmap. Would you be interested in
setting up a meeting to discuss this? (Probably select a timeslot
of evening in Australia, lunchtime in Europe). <br>
</p>
<p>Brian, Your OSGeo wiki should now be approved, so please do add
your name to the list of contributors.<br>
</p>
<p>[1] <a
href="http://cameronshorter.blogspot.com/2019/04/amplifying-googles-season-of-docs.html">http://cameronshorter.blogspot.com/2019/04/amplifying-googles-season-of-docs.html</a></p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 30/5/19 12:36 pm, Brian McRae wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:CAEyPrQZ-oU_dtbFVtRowGk5b6JFX6pDvfzwUSVddpU9R6p2Ohw@mail.gmail.com">
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail_default" style="color:#0000ff">Hi All,</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="color:#0000ff"><br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="color:#0000ff">I've been a
member of the Aus-NZ-QGIS-group for a while, quietly receiving
emails. I took up Cameron's invitation for volunteers to
support the GSOD initiative yesterday. Since then, I've:</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="color:#0000ff">
<ul>
<li>Read a few group emails (those that were sent since I
joined)</li>
<li>Scanned the rest of the <a
href="https://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/seasonofdocs/"
moz-do-not-send="true">group messages to date</a> (mostly
thread titles, just to get an idea of where the group has
been / is up to)</li>
<li>Perused Andrew's doc on <a
href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eWpqmZHFiuoUhcCPcf9VTFrs2ol53A-Ha9in8sbiwlU/edit"
moz-do-not-send="true">Getting started with QGIS
documentation</a> (thanks to Cameron for the link; this
looks quite helpful and I'll spend some more time with it)</li>
<li>Read the OSGeo Wiki page <a
href="https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Season_of_Docs_Ideas_2019"
moz-do-not-send="true">Season of Docs Ideas 2019</a> (but
not explored links, etc.)</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="color:#0000ff">This has given
me some ideas about the project, along with some questions,
including a fair bit of uncertainty about what I might be
wrong about and/or might be missing. I figured a 'hello' email
would be a good start. I included links above as these might
be useful to other people that join down the road. (One idea
might be a 'welcome' email.)</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="color:#0000ff"><br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="color:#0000ff">I haven't been
able to get access to edit the Wiki yet, but my brief bio
might read something like:</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="color:#0000ff"><br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="color:#0000ff"><i>Environmental
scientist/planner/bureaucrat; IT hack most of my life
(starting with TTY, paper tape and punchcards & 5.25"
floppys); with a passion for understanding and improving
systems, including relationships. This includes a few
decades playing with various GIS packages, including the two
main commercial offerings, as well as QGIS. Communication
has been a key career theme, mostly about technical issues,
for a range of audiences, using different mediums. I'm keen
to use this opportunity to grow a bit - I haven't written
documentation - and to express my deep appreciation for
QGIS, and its community, by contributing.</i><br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="color:#0000ff"><i><br>
</i></div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="color:#0000ff">Regarding the
SOD project, I'm struck by a relative absence in the
discussion about 'audience' (a critical element for me in my
writing experience). It does arise, as does the question of
the larger landscape of resources (e.g. documentation,
tutorials, etc.). As I've only scanned/perused the discussion
to date, this observation may be unwarranted. In addition, as
this project is still at the inception, I might be looking for
too much structure. However, my thought process is along these
lines:</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="color:#0000ff">
<ul>
<li>The 'audience' (OSGEO users?) is huge/diverse, with
varied needs</li>
<li>Any attempt to provide a single solution (e.g. writing
documentation for both newbies and experts) is destined to
be a compromise and not serve either end of the spectrum
ideally</li>
<li>Fortunately, the FOSS/OSGEO/QGIS community contributes
and creates lots of resources including some great blogs,
forums such as StackExchange, etc.</li>
<li>As a self-described IT-hack, when I have a question I
typically do a Google search and the source/sources I
often find most useful are not the 'official' QGIS
documentation</li>
<li>Some sort of 'portal' site, or at least a wiki-type
facility within the documentation that supports the
listing of links to other/external information sources,
possibly with an opportunity of community contributions
(comments), might be a useful contribution, or a component
of one or more ideas/projects</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="color:#0000ff">I wrote most of
this yesterday, and then saw Jared's email, where he raised a
lot of the questions on my mind, such as:</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="color:#0000ff">
<ul>
<li>Do we have a learning vision</li>
<li>What types of documentation do we want to create
(including a list of categories from his current work:
Tutorial, How-to, Discussion, Reference)</li>
<li>Complemented by Matteo's earlier email in the thread
about 3 main resources (QGIS user manual - explaining
buttons; QGIS Training Manual; and PyGIS cookbook)</li>
<li>Consulting <a
href="https://www.qgis.org/en/docs/index.html"
moz-do-not-send="true">QGIS Docs</a> I'd suggest
Matteo's list of three QGIS resources (for users) should
actually be:</li>
<ul>
<li>User Guide</li>
<li>Training Manual; and</li>
<li>A Gentle Introduction 'in' (to) QGIS</li>
</ul>
<li>These resources for Users are complemented by:</li>
<ul>
<li>Documentation Guidelines (for document writers); and</li>
<li>Three resources for developers (including PyGIS
Cookbook and the documentation for C++ and PyGIS APIs)</li>
</ul>
<li>What is the target persona (audience) - with a reply
that I can't find indicating that the audience is to an
extent unknown, but is also diverse (but I note the wiki
ideas include some "WHY?" explanations that provide stats
on common user complaints/suggestions - very
important/useful IMHO)</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"
data-smartmail="gmail_signature">
<div dir="ltr">
<div><font color="#0000ff"><span class="gmail_default"
style="color:rgb(0,0,255)">Apologies for the lengthy
post. My intent is mostly to add a hello, including
my observations as a new arrival to this process -
what the landscape looks like from my perspective. I
warned in my bio that I am oriented towards systems
thinking, but I'm bolstered by the fact that Jared,
as an experienced technical writer but new to GIS,
echoed some of my concerns.</span></font></div>
<div><font color="#0000ff"><span class="gmail_default"
style="color:rgb(0,0,255)"><br>
</span></font></div>
<div><font color="#0000ff"><span class="gmail_default"
style="color:rgb(0,0,255)">In summary, I think my
key point would be:</span></font></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><font color="#0000ff"><span class="gmail_default"
style="color:rgb(0,0,255)">I think it is
important to have a clear context (overview),
notably the relationships between:</span></font></li>
<ul>
<li><font color="#0000ff"><span
class="gmail_default"
style="color:rgb(0,0,255)">Audience(s)</span></font></li>
<li><font color="#0000ff"><span
class="gmail_default"
style="color:rgb(0,0,255)">OSGEO/QGIS
documents/resources; and</span></font></li>
<li><font color="#0000ff"><span
class="gmail_default"
style="color:rgb(0,0,255)">Other external
documents/resources (including the <a
href="http://spatialquerylab.com/foss4g-academy-curriculum/"
moz-do-not-send="true">FOSS4G GeoAcademy
Curriculum</a>, and <a
href="https://www.qgistutorials.com/en/index.html"
moz-do-not-send="true">Ujaval Gandhi's
tutorials</a>, as well as <a
href="https://www.qgistutorials.com/en/docs/learning_resources.html"
moz-do-not-send="true">other resources he
lists</a>) </span></font></li>
</ul>
</ul>
</div>
<div><font color="#0000ff"><span class="gmail_default"
style="color:rgb(0,0,255)">This understanding of the
landscape (need a map :-) potentially increases the
chance of creating useful content, whether by
providing clear direction for the revision of an
existing component or assisting with the
identification of gaps/opportunities, such as the
'portal' approach I suggest above. One resource (<a
href="https://feldynotebook.com/edges-of-the-feet-ay433/"
moz-do-not-send="true">FeldyNotebook</a>) I've
been involved in contributing to, whilst completely
unrelated in terms of subject matter and audience,
perhaps offers some useful concepts, such as:</span></font></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><font color="#0000ff"><span class="gmail_default"
style="color:rgb(0,0,255)">A standard template
(subject headings)</span></font></li>
<li><font color="#0000ff"><span class="gmail_default"
style="color:rgb(0,0,255)">Cross-referencing</span></font></li>
<li><font color="#0000ff"><span class="gmail_default"
style="color:rgb(0,0,255)">External links</span></font></li>
<li><font color="#0000ff"><span class="gmail_default"
style="color:rgb(0,0,255)">Invitation for
comments</span></font></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div><span style="color:rgb(0,0,255)">Cheers, Brian</span></div>
<div><br>
</div>
<font color="#0000ff"><a
href="http://linkedin.com/in/bpmcrae" target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true"><img
src="https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&id=0B7LTGZZTlaGZd242QkJhQjNNZVE&revid=0B7LTGZZTlaGZeFNvajduN1hFdzYvbmJReEVSd0RIT3VHYkxnPQ"
moz-do-not-send="true"></a></font><br>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br>
<fieldset class="mimeAttachmentHeader"></fieldset>
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">_______________________________________________
SeasonOfDocs mailing list
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:SeasonOfDocs@lists.osgeo.org">SeasonOfDocs@lists.osgeo.org</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/seasonofdocs">https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/seasonofdocs</a>
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Cameron Shorter
Technology Demystifier
Open Technologies and Geospatial Consultant
M +61 (0) 419 142 254</pre>
</body>
</html>