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Posted to dev@cocoon.apache.org by "Linden H van der (MI)" <H....@MI.unimaas.nl> on 2005/06/13 09:33:26 UTC

[VOTE] Consensus about documentation location

Guys,

I'm aware that I'm not officially a committer (yet), however, I think it
will be a good idea to get explicit consensus on where to locate the
docs and about a rough outline of the future actions.

This is the proposal:

- the current Daisy site at the zones [1] will be the "incubator" for
the new documentation. I.e. new content is to be entered there.
- this documentation is targeted at Cocoon 2.2. This means that we try
to write version-independent documentation, but when there is a
difference between 2.1 and 2.2, the documentation will describe 2.2.
- the rules for the various roles have been defined already [2]. Note,
registered guests can leave comments.
- this also implies that we stick with Daisy as CMS (and not venture on
the endless hunt for THE best system/toolset).
- all current content in both wiki and "official docs" will be evaluated
and either deprecated or moved over into the Daisy site.
- once the wiki is "processed" (i.e. all documentation is (re)moved), it
will only serve as a scratchpad, either for random thoughts/proposals or
for users that want to offer documentation but have no editor rights in
the Daisy site. I.e. the content of the wiki should be kept as small as
possible and deprecated information should be removed as soon as
possible.
- the current intention is to eventually move the content of the Daisy
site over to the "official documentation". This is no hard coded rule
and may be changed later.


[1] http://cocoon.zones.apache.org/daisy/cocooninaction/4.html
[2] http://www.mail-archive.com/dev@cocoon.apache.org/msg31807.html

Bye, Helma

Re: [VOTE] Consensus about documentation location

Posted by Leszek Gawron <lg...@mobilebox.pl>.
Ralph Goers wrote:
> Sylvain Wallez wrote:
> 
>>
>> Same concerns as Ugo. We should IMO document 2.1 and use specially 
>> labelled sections and pages for what's different in 2.2. We could also 
>> uses Daisy branches, but I don't think it's a good idea to start a 
>> multi-branch effort right now.
> 
> 
> I agree with this also.
> 
>>
>>
>>> - once the wiki is "processed" (i.e. all documentation is (re)moved), it
>>> will only serve as a scratchpad, either for random thoughts/proposals or
>>> for users that want to offer documentation but have no editor rights in
>>> the Daisy site. I.e. the content of the wiki should be kept as small as
>>> possible and deprecated information should be removed as soon as
>>> possible.
>>>  
>>>
>>
>> Same concerns as Leszek: writing docs in the wiki would really make 
>> non-editors feel like second-class citizen. Additionally to leaving 
>> comments, we may allow registered users with no particular rights to 
>> edit documents belonging to a "scratchpad" collection, distinct from 
>> the main document collection. That will allow us to quickly move 
>> around good contributions to the main area and also educate editor 
>> wannabees to the CMS features.
> 
> 
> Here I have to disagree with you.  I don't think that all the content 
> that is on the Wiki should necessarily find its way to the :"formal" 
> documentation.  I think the wiki serves that purpose well.  It allows
I do not propose to give access do editing formal documentation. Daisy 
has got a nice feature of several "sites" in one CMS. Let's make a 
scratchpad site that allows users to enter their experiences there.

> users a place to document things that they have learned which may not 
> have a good place in the formal documentation.  
What kind of documentation, faq, recipe, howto is not suitable for 
formal documentation? Every piece of someones writing can be:
- pointed out to have an existing docs entry
- processed and incorporated into formal docs somehow (I do not mean 1:1 
here)
- rejected because of quality issues

> So, just because users 
> can't directly update the formal documentation I don't think they will 
> feel like second class citizens. I think they'd be quite surprised if 
> they could update the formal documentation.  And actually, I think they 
> would be quite pleased and honored if whatever they wrote was moved from 
> the wiki into the formal docmentation by an editor.
> 
> I really don't see this as much different than how things are with the 
> code.  Users can write patches and submit them to bugzilla or they can 
> post code snippets on the wiki, but they cannot update svn.
I see an analogy but I keep my opinion:
- it will be much more appealing to users to post snippets to CMS scratchpad
- reviewing things and putting them live will happen using the same 
tools as for formal documentation (who will want to convert wiki markup 
-> html code?)
- Most of all: we will have one documenatation source instead of 2. Even 
if something is in scratchpad people may want to look for it and use it. 
   We could provide special search queries for formal documents only and 
one that would include awaiting documents.

-- 
Leszek Gawron                                      lgawron@mobilebox.pl
IT Manager                                         MobileBox sp. z o.o.
+48 (61) 855 06 67                              http://www.mobilebox.pl
mobile: +48 (501) 720 812                       fax: +48 (61) 853 29 65

Re: [VOTE] Consensus about documentation location

Posted by Glen Ezkovich <gl...@hard-bop.com>.
On Jun 13, 2005, at 8:46 AM, Ralph Goers wrote:

> Sylvain Wallez wrote:
>
>
>>
>> Same concerns as Ugo. We should IMO document 2.1 and use specially  
>> labelled sections and pages for what's different in 2.2. We could  
>> also uses Daisy branches, but I don't think it's a good idea to  
>> start a multi-branch effort right now.
>>
>
> I agree with this also.
>

I know how slowly I can work sometimes, so 2.2 is a good target for  
me. ;-)  I think what we want is to have current documentation. When  
2.2 is released we want to be ready. We don't want to go back and  
update documentation that we have just finished, especially if we  
could have incorporated it as we went along. Likewise I don't see us  
ignoring 2.1, since no one in there right mind would ever use the  
latest relaease :-O. We can't document anything that doesn't exist  
yet, but we do have to work with the latest versions in order to stay  
current. If developers are working on 2.2, the documentarians need to  
be as well. Right now I think each of the "documentarians" has a pet  
project. What I hope is that in the future (or even now) that if  
commiters need new functionality documented they will feel free to  
ask us to do it. That is the role we play.


>
>>
>>
>>
>>> - once the wiki is "processed" (i.e. all documentation is (re) 
>>> moved), it
>>> will only serve as a scratchpad, either for random thoughts/ 
>>> proposals or
>>> for users that want to offer documentation but have no editor  
>>> rights in
>>> the Daisy site. I.e. the content of the wiki should be kept as  
>>> small as
>>> possible and deprecated information should be removed as soon as
>>> possible.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Same concerns as Leszek: writing docs in the wiki would really  
>> make non-editors feel like second-class citizen. Additionally to  
>> leaving comments, we may allow registered users with no particular  
>> rights to edit documents belonging to a "scratchpad" collection,  
>> distinct from the main document collection. That will allow us to  
>> quickly move around good contributions to the main area and also  
>> educate editor wannabees to the CMS features.
>>
>
> Here I have to disagree with you.  I don't think that all the  
> content that is on the Wiki should necessarily find its way to  
> the :"formal" documentation.  I think the wiki serves that purpose  
> well.  It allows users a place to document things that they have  
> learned which may not have a good place in the formal  
> documentation.  So, just because users can't directly update the  
> formal documentation I don't think they will feel like second class  
> citizens. I think they'd be quite surprised if they could update  
> the formal documentation.  And actually, I think they would be  
> quite pleased and honored if whatever they wrote was moved from the  
> wiki into the formal docmentation by an editor.
>
> I really don't see this as much different than how things are with  
> the code.  Users can write patches and submit them to bugzilla or  
> they can post code snippets on the wiki, but they cannot update svn.

One of the things we'd like to get out of this is more user  
participation. What I'd like to see is the Daisy site replace the  
wiki for documentation purposes. I'd like guest to be able to browse  
unfinished and incomplete documentation. I'd like anyone to be able  
to write documentation and submit it for publication. The wiki still  
has a place, but I've never seen as appropriate way to document things.



Glen Ezkovich
HardBop Consulting
glen at hard-bop.com



A Proverb for Paranoids:
"If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to  
worry about answers."
- Thomas Pynchon Gravity's Rainbow


Re: [VOTE] Consensus about documentation location

Posted by Ralph Goers <Ra...@dslextreme.com>.
Sylvain Wallez wrote:

>
> Same concerns as Ugo. We should IMO document 2.1 and use specially 
> labelled sections and pages for what's different in 2.2. We could also 
> uses Daisy branches, but I don't think it's a good idea to start a 
> multi-branch effort right now.

I agree with this also.

>
>
>> - once the wiki is "processed" (i.e. all documentation is (re)moved), it
>> will only serve as a scratchpad, either for random thoughts/proposals or
>> for users that want to offer documentation but have no editor rights in
>> the Daisy site. I.e. the content of the wiki should be kept as small as
>> possible and deprecated information should be removed as soon as
>> possible.
>>  
>>
>
> Same concerns as Leszek: writing docs in the wiki would really make 
> non-editors feel like second-class citizen. Additionally to leaving 
> comments, we may allow registered users with no particular rights to 
> edit documents belonging to a "scratchpad" collection, distinct from 
> the main document collection. That will allow us to quickly move 
> around good contributions to the main area and also educate editor 
> wannabees to the CMS features.

Here I have to disagree with you.  I don't think that all the content 
that is on the Wiki should necessarily find its way to the :"formal" 
documentation.  I think the wiki serves that purpose well.  It allows 
users a place to document things that they have learned which may not 
have a good place in the formal documentation.  So, just because users 
can't directly update the formal documentation I don't think they will 
feel like second class citizens. I think they'd be quite surprised if 
they could update the formal documentation.  And actually, I think they 
would be quite pleased and honored if whatever they wrote was moved from 
the wiki into the formal docmentation by an editor.

I really don't see this as much different than how things are with the 
code.  Users can write patches and submit them to bugzilla or they can 
post code snippets on the wiki, but they cannot update svn. 

>
>
> Sylvain
>
>
Ralph


Re: [VOTE] Consensus about documentation location

Posted by Sylvain Wallez <sy...@apache.org>.
Linden H van der (MI) wrote:

>Guys,
>
>I'm aware that I'm not officially a committer (yet), however, I think it
>will be a good idea to get explicit consensus on where to locate the
>docs and about a rough outline of the future actions.
>
>This is the proposal:
>
>- the current Daisy site at the zones [1] will be the "incubator" for
>the new documentation. I.e. new content is to be entered there.
>  
>

+1

>- this documentation is targeted at Cocoon 2.2. This means that we try
>to write version-independent documentation, but when there is a
>difference between 2.1 and 2.2, the documentation will describe 2.2.
>  
>

Same concerns as Ugo. We should IMO document 2.1 and use specially 
labelled sections and pages for what's different in 2.2. We could also 
uses Daisy branches, but I don't think it's a good idea to start a 
multi-branch effort right now.

>- the rules for the various roles have been defined already [2]. Note,
>registered guests can leave comments.
>  
>

+1

>- this also implies that we stick with Daisy as CMS (and not venture on
>the endless hunt for THE best system/toolset).
>  
>

+1

>- all current content in both wiki and "official docs" will be evaluated
>and either deprecated or moved over into the Daisy site.
>  
>

+1

>- once the wiki is "processed" (i.e. all documentation is (re)moved), it
>will only serve as a scratchpad, either for random thoughts/proposals or
>for users that want to offer documentation but have no editor rights in
>the Daisy site. I.e. the content of the wiki should be kept as small as
>possible and deprecated information should be removed as soon as
>possible.
>  
>

Same concerns as Leszek: writing docs in the wiki would really make 
non-editors feel like second-class citizen. Additionally to leaving 
comments, we may allow registered users with no particular rights to 
edit documents belonging to a "scratchpad" collection, distinct from the 
main document collection. That will allow us to quickly move around good 
contributions to the main area and also educate editor wannabees to the 
CMS features.

>- the current intention is to eventually move the content of the Daisy
>site over to the "official documentation". This is no hard coded rule
>and may be changed later.
>  
>

A mod_rewrite rule pointing cocoon.apache.org/docs/ to the cocoon zone 
(with an additional mod_cache?) will make publication damn easy :-)

Something important though is to keep a version of the docs in svn at 
least for each release, so that we can easily find the docs for a 
particular version, and also ship self-contained distros with their 
docs. We therefore need a way to dump the content, either in published 
form (e.g. with wget on the Daisy frontend) or in source form (by using 
the http repository API [1])

Sylvain

[1] http://www.cocoondev.org/daisydocs-1_3/repository/interfaces/21.html

-- 
Sylvain Wallez                        Anyware Technologies
http://apache.org/~sylvain            http://anyware-tech.com
Apache Software Foundation Member     Research & Technology Director


Re: [VOTE] Consensus about documentation location

Posted by Reinhard Poetz <re...@apache.org>.
Linden H van der (MI) wrote:

Many thanks for the summary and the vote. I have to admit that I wasn't able to 
read all the mails.

> Guys,
> 
> I'm aware that I'm not officially a committer (yet), however, I think it
> will be a good idea to get explicit consensus on where to locate the
> docs and about a rough outline of the future actions.
> 
> This is the proposal:
> 
> - the current Daisy site at the zones [1] will be the "incubator" for
> the new documentation. I.e. new content is to be entered there.
> - this documentation is targeted at Cocoon 2.2. This means that we try
> to write version-independent documentation, but when there is a
> difference between 2.1 and 2.2, the documentation will describe 2.2.
> - the rules for the various roles have been defined already [2]. Note,
> registered guests can leave comments.
> - this also implies that we stick with Daisy as CMS (and not venture on
> the endless hunt for THE best system/toolset).
> - all current content in both wiki and "official docs" will be evaluated
> and either deprecated or moved over into the Daisy site.
> - once the wiki is "processed" (i.e. all documentation is (re)moved), it
> will only serve as a scratchpad, either for random thoughts/proposals or
> for users that want to offer documentation but have no editor rights in
> the Daisy site. I.e. the content of the wiki should be kept as small as
> possible and deprecated information should be removed as soon as
> possible.

+1 for all

> - the current intention is to eventually move the content of the Daisy
> site over to the "official documentation". This is no hard coded rule
> and may be changed later.

Maybe it has already been discussed and then I'm more than happy with a link but 
if not, can you explain the process of how our documentation gets published 
(http://cocoon.apache.org)? IIUC, cocoon.zones.apache.org/daisy/ is our staging 
area and not the official documentation, right?

Another question is the relationship between our generated documentation and the 
CMS? Are there any guidelines where we draw the borderline and the integration 
process to get one documentation in the end?


-- 
Reinhard Pötz           Independent Consultant, Trainer & (IT)-Coach 

{Software Engineering, Open Source, Web Applications, Apache Cocoon}

                                        web(log): http://www.poetz.cc
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Re: [VOTE] Consensus about documentation location

Posted by Steven Noels <st...@outerthought.org>.
On 13 Jun 2005, at 16:13, Glen Ezkovich wrote:

> One of the current limitations of Daisy is that we have only 3 roles. 
> We need a fourth.  Publishers, who make a document official and 
> publish it to the main documentation site.

You can have an "official documentation site" with a navtree that is 
only editable by a specific role.

</Steven>
-- 
Steven Noels                            http://outerthought.org/
Outerthought - Open Source Java & XML            An Orixo Member
Read my weblog at            http://blogs.cocoondev.org/stevenn/
stevenn at outerthought.org                stevenn at apache.org


Re: [VOTE] Consensus about documentation location

Posted by Glen Ezkovich <gl...@hard-bop.com>.
On Jun 13, 2005, at 3:27 AM, Ugo Cei wrote:

> Il giorno 13/giu/05, alle 09:53, Leszek Gawron ha scritto:
>
>
>> Linden H van der (MI) wrote:
>>
>>> - this documentation is targeted at Cocoon 2.2. This means that  
>>> we try
>>> to write version-independent documentation, but when there is a
>>> difference between 2.1 and 2.2, the documentation will describe 2.2.
>>>
>
> Why 2.2? I'm afraid (but would love to be proved wrong) that it's  
> going to be a while before we have 2.2 out the door. Most users are  
> targeting 2.1 and it will be the latest officially released version  
> for a long time.
>
> Moreover, many things in 2.2 are not finalized yet, so we'd be  
> documenting a moving target.

True. Documenting 2.1 means that by the time I have completed my work  
it will be obsolete. Most if the information will be back compatible,  
but where there are differences they need to be noted. Documentation  
developement usually goes along with code development. One of the  
problems with documenting Cocoon is the the activity of the  
developers. Once we have some basics in place I can concentrate on  
keeping the docs current.

>
>
>>> - this also implies that we stick with Daisy as CMS (and not  
>>> venture on
>>> the endless hunt for THE best system/toolset).
>>>
>
> +1

I look at this as an experiment. If it works great if it doesn't we  
need to find something else. Right now daisy seems to have some  
limitations. We can work around them for now.

>
>
>>> - once the wiki is "processed" (i.e. all documentation is (re) 
>>> moved), it
>>> will only serve as a scratchpad, either for random thoughts/ 
>>> proposals or
>>> for users that want to offer documentation but have no editor  
>>> rights in
>>> the Daisy site. I.e. the content of the wiki should be kept as  
>>> small as
>>> possible and deprecated information should be removed as soon as
>>> possible.
>>>
>> It would be quite awkward if we have a documentation site but  
>> direct users to write their howtos and recipes on empty wiki. It  
>> looks like you'd be saying to a common: You're not worth using our  
>> CMS. Write some content in our trash-all-there wiki and we will  
>> kindly pick it up from there. OR NOT.

One of the current limitations of Daisy is that we have only 3 roles.  
We need a fourth.  Publishers, who make a document official and  
publish it to the main documentation site. Editors, who can view,  
edit and comment on the work of others. Writers, who can work only on  
their own documents. Guests who can view any document in in any  
state. Even unfinished and unacceptable documents have valuable  
information.

>>
>> My thought: make user registration at CMS as easy as possible.  
>> Grant edit rights in Daisy for some cocoon-documentation-firing- 
>> ground site. Pick documents from there and put it into main  
>> documentation with ease when the document is mature enough. On  
>> wiki users also have to register before editing and that did not  
>> make problems.

Registration is a must.

>>
>
> +1
>
>
>>> - the current intention is to eventually move the content of the  
>>> Daisy
>>> site over to the "official documentation". This is no hard coded  
>>> rule
>>> and may be changed later.
>>>
>> What for really? We will have whole content there (with metadata  
>> and comments). Why not make it default cocoon.apache.org? Every  
>> new cocoon release would get a static snapshot of online site.

Glen Ezkovich
HardBop Consulting
glen at hard-bop.com



A Proverb for Paranoids:
"If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to  
worry about answers."
- Thomas Pynchon Gravity's Rainbow


Re: [VOTE] Consensus about documentation location

Posted by Ugo Cei <ug...@apache.org>.
Il giorno 13/giu/05, alle 09:53, Leszek Gawron ha scritto:

> Linden H van der (MI) wrote:
>> - this documentation is targeted at Cocoon 2.2. This means that we try
>> to write version-independent documentation, but when there is a
>> difference between 2.1 and 2.2, the documentation will describe 2.2.

Why 2.2? I'm afraid (but would love to be proved wrong) that it's going 
to be a while before we have 2.2 out the door. Most users are targeting 
2.1 and it will be the latest officially released version for a long 
time.

Moreover, many things in 2.2 are not finalized yet, so we'd be 
documenting a moving target.

>> - this also implies that we stick with Daisy as CMS (and not venture 
>> on
>> the endless hunt for THE best system/toolset).

+1

>> - once the wiki is "processed" (i.e. all documentation is (re)moved), 
>> it
>> will only serve as a scratchpad, either for random thoughts/proposals 
>> or
>> for users that want to offer documentation but have no editor rights 
>> in
>> the Daisy site. I.e. the content of the wiki should be kept as small 
>> as
>> possible and deprecated information should be removed as soon as
>> possible.
> It would be quite awkward if we have a documentation site but direct 
> users to write their howtos and recipes on empty wiki. It looks like 
> you'd be saying to a common: You're not worth using our CMS. Write 
> some content in our trash-all-there wiki and we will kindly pick it up 
> from there. OR NOT.
>
> My thought: make user registration at CMS as easy as possible. Grant 
> edit rights in Daisy for some cocoon-documentation-firing-ground site. 
> Pick documents from there and put it into main documentation with ease 
> when the document is mature enough. On wiki users also have to 
> register before editing and that did not make problems.

+1

>> - the current intention is to eventually move the content of the Daisy
>> site over to the "official documentation". This is no hard coded rule
>> and may be changed later.
> What for really? We will have whole content there (with metadata and 
> comments). Why not make it default cocoon.apache.org? Every new cocoon 
> release would get a static snapshot of online site.

+1

	Ugo

-- 
Ugo Cei
Tech Blog: http://agylen.com/
Open Source Zone: http://oszone.org/
Wine & Food Blog: http://www.divinocibo.it/

Re: [VOTE] Consensus about documentation location

Posted by Leszek Gawron <lg...@mobilebox.pl>.
Linden H van der (MI) wrote:
> Guys,
> 
> I'm aware that I'm not officially a committer (yet), however, I think it
> will be a good idea to get explicit consensus on where to locate the
> docs and about a rough outline of the future actions.
> 
> This is the proposal:
> 
> - the current Daisy site at the zones [1] will be the "incubator" for
> the new documentation. I.e. new content is to be entered there.
> - this documentation is targeted at Cocoon 2.2. This means that we try
> to write version-independent documentation, but when there is a
> difference between 2.1 and 2.2, the documentation will describe 2.2.
> - the rules for the various roles have been defined already [2]. Note,
> registered guests can leave comments.
> - this also implies that we stick with Daisy as CMS (and not venture on
> the endless hunt for THE best system/toolset).
> - all current content in both wiki and "official docs" will be evaluated
> and either deprecated or moved over into the Daisy site.
> - once the wiki is "processed" (i.e. all documentation is (re)moved), it
> will only serve as a scratchpad, either for random thoughts/proposals or
> for users that want to offer documentation but have no editor rights in
> the Daisy site. I.e. the content of the wiki should be kept as small as
> possible and deprecated information should be removed as soon as
> possible.
It would be quite awkward if we have a documentation site but direct 
users to write their howtos and recipes on empty wiki. It looks like 
you'd be saying to a common: You're not worth using our CMS. Write some 
content in our trash-all-there wiki and we will kindly pick it up from 
there. OR NOT.

My thought: make user registration at CMS as easy as possible. Grant 
edit rights in Daisy for some cocoon-documentation-firing-ground site. 
Pick documents from there and put it into main documentation with ease 
when the document is mature enough. On wiki users also have to register 
before editing and that did not make problems.

> - the current intention is to eventually move the content of the Daisy
> site over to the "official documentation". This is no hard coded rule
> and may be changed later.
What for really? We will have whole content there (with metadata and 
comments). Why not make it default cocoon.apache.org? Every new cocoon 
release would get a static snapshot of online site.

-- 
Leszek Gawron                                      lgawron@mobilebox.pl
IT Manager                                         MobileBox sp. z o.o.
+48 (61) 855 06 67                              http://www.mobilebox.pl
mobile: +48 (501) 720 812                       fax: +48 (61) 853 29 65