[OSGeo-Edu] Style and Target Audience For Free GIS Book

[Victor Olaya]

Landon,

we have guidelines, but they are guidelines for the usage of LaTeX and
mostly concerned with format, not with style. I tend to write in a slightly
informal style, but not too informal. This can be considered the current
style of the book, since I am the only author so far, but  it is true that
we haven't talked much about this on the spanish side. However, although it
is ok to write in an informal way, please use references and citations in a
the usual way (more formal), so as to give the text a good scientifical
appearance. It can be a "gis for dummies" text...but at the same time a good
scientifical work.

Anyway, try to write in your own style. I think that one of the main tasks
of the editorial comitee should be to adapt chapters to hava a homogeneous
book, so whatever you write can be later edited (with you help an
permission, of couse), to fit the global style of the book. Also have in
mind that yours is the first (and by now the only) chapter being written in
english, so i doesn't need to have the same style as the spanish chapters
already written. We can alter your style when traslating the chapter, so as
to make it fit better among the other chapters.

The book is mainly target at people with no previous knowledge of GIS, but
check the chapters that go before the metadata one, to avoid repeating
things that have been explained on those chapters. About FOSS, you should
avoid mentioning software tools. There is a special chapter on software
(wheter free or not), but outside of it, only theoretical stuff should be
explained. You can contribute to that chapter, and write about tools for
handling and editing metadata, or any other thing that you think that should
be added.

By the way, I'm glad to tell you the Mª Dolores Arteaga, who is the main
author of a couple of chapters (and maybe more, because we are talking about
creating a separate part on SDIs, and she knows a lot about them...) has
volunteered to translate your chapter as soon as it is written, since she is
really intereseted on that subject.

Regards.

***************************************************
Victor Olaya Ferrero
UNEX
E-mail : volaya at ya.com
            volaya at unex.es
My blog: http://volaya.blogspot.com
***************************************************
----- Mensaje original -----
De: Landon Blake
Para: edu_discuss at lists.osgeo.org
Enviado: viernes, 02 de noviembre de 2007 15:59
Asunto: [OSGeo-Edu] Style and Target Audience For Free GIS Book


I was hoping to start on the Metadata chapter of the Free GIS Book this
weekend. Before I get started I wanted to ask if there are any guidelines
about the style and target audience for the book. My own style tends to be
rather informal. I also like to err on the side of too much explanation
rather than not enough. (I try to act like I am writing a "GIS For Dummies"
Book rather than a traditional text book.) :]

But, I'm only one contributing author among many, and I would like to know
if I should modify my writing style to fit with any adopted style.

Do you have any thoughts or comments on this? Should we put some style
guidelines on the wiki? Or will we expect different styles from different
authors? (Perhaps this is the best approach.)

What about our target audience? Do we have a clear picture in mind of who
this person will be? Is it a person familiar with GIS but unfamiliar with
FOSS? Is it someone brand new to GIS but familiar with FOSS? Or is it
someone brand new to both GIS and FOSS?

Landon




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