[Qgis-community-team] Draft paper discussing QGIS docs

[Paolo Cavallini]

Hi all,

On 27/08/19 22:03, Cameron Shorter wrote:
> 
> On 28/8/19 12:56 am, matteo wrote:
>> Hi Alexandre,

thanks everybody for this interesting discussion. As we all know,
documentation is not the strongest point of QGIS, and improving it will
do good to the project, even though it is a fact that tons of resources
are available in a variety of languages, and users mostly manage to use
QGIS effectively for their needs.

I agree fully with most arguments put forward. You all have suggested
useful solutions that should be put in practice ASAP.
I'm just worried about

> There should still be space for volunteers contributions, but a project like QGIS can no longer rely on it only.

and similar arguments. While I agree that we should keep on using our
funds, and additional resources, as an incentive for documenters, I
think this should be done with a clear plan in mind. If not done
carefully, this move could discourage volunteers, not only in this area
("why should I volunteer, when another one is doing the same thing and
is paid for this?"). Volunteer communities are hard to build, and easy
to destroy. Replacing volunteers with employees can quickly become very
expensive, and we should be sure we'll be able to raise enough money
both in the short and in the long term to fully support the effort.
I suggest working out a budget for this, to check how feasible this
solution can be, before taking further steps.
Another radically different solution would be to embrace the chaotic
approach, and leave the user browsing the thousands of web resources to
get help, and keep official documentation to an absolute bare minimum
that we can effectively managed by the core team. I'm not a fan of this
solution, but it what is currently happening.

Cheers.
-- 
Paolo Cavallini - www.faunalia.eu
QGIS.ORG Chair:
http://planet.qgis.org/planet/user/28/tag/qgis%20board/