[GRASSLIST:112] Re: How can I help?

[David Finlayson]

On 3/14/06, Markus Neteler <neteler at itc.it> wrote:

> > So, now that I've settled into the post-doc life, I've got a few hours
> > in the evening to spend time giving back to the GRASS community. It
> > seems to me that one thing GRASS could really use is some better free
> > documentation. The link to documentation from the main page goes to a
> > "Help!" message and links to a list that hasn't been used much for
> > years. The GRASS WIKI might be a good place to do this, but the
> > organization of the wiki is not clear to me. Who is in charge of
> > documentation and where can I help?
>
> Do you mean writing docs? A couple of people, spreaded over the
> internet.
> Or the web site? Unfortunately almost me, but all developers have
> write access to modify the Web site as well (it just rarely
> happens).

I don't want to duplicate efforts. If there is already a plan in place
for documentation, how can I pitch in? If there is no plan, how do we
go about getting one in place?

My vision is for something more than just a description of the
buttons. Instead, something that would describe how to do things the
"GRASS way". Probably spread across of few documents:

1) Installation Manual
2) Tutorial
3) A Comprehensive User Guide (1 part text book, 1 part instruction manual)
4) Advanced Geoprocessing (Scripting, Batch Processing, Internet Mapping, etc)
5) Programmers API


>
> I am still working on the new grass.itc.it server and thought to
> install a content management system on it (maybe Joomla?). Then
> "roles" could be defined and power users could easily contribute.
> Sounds reasonable?

Yes, access to the web would be useful for "products" such as a master
volume of documentation. But for development of the document(s) the
Wiki is probably a better place since it has a lower barrier to entry.
Also, users of the documents in early stages will understand from the
format that it is incomplete.

The more difficult thing is getting a system in place that will scale
as the documents grow from a few pages to hundreds of pages. It is
probably also important to settle on a format that can be adapted to
the web or printed manuals from a single source. I know some FOSS
projects have sophisticated solutions to this problem, but I know
nothing about it personally. I don't want the format so hard to learn
that people with a spare hour feel like they cannot contribute.
Documentation is a good way for non-programmers to contribute.

--
David Finlayson