Re: [gNewSense-users] Re: gNewSense Documentation

[Kevin Dean]

It appears it's going around on this thread, I did the same thing with Mark.

***

From: Kevin Dean <address@hidden>
Date: Nov 14, 2007 8:52 PM
Subject: Re: [gNewSense-users] Re: gNewSense Documentation
To: Mark William Darbyshire <address@hidden>


> What you're saying makes sense. The question, then, is in what order
> should the tasks be structured?

Well, I think the most logical way would be in the order that the user
would do these things.

First step, getting the ISO. Second, burning, third, installing.

A walk-through of the installer

To some extent it diverges at this point since users would do
everything differently here... KDE has different setup tools than
GNOME (i.e. Network configuration). It could be either task oriented
or "time" oriented. You could make a page on "How to set up a wired
ethernet interface" that has both KDE and Gnome instructions or
"seperate" tutorials on how to set up a gnome interface and so on...
Either works, I say the difference is more in organization that
effectiveness.


>
> - Installation
> - Introduction to the desktop environment
>    - GNOME
>    - KDE
> - Setting Things Up
>    - Users and Groups
>    - Networking (or perhaps only Basic Networking at this point)
>    - Email?
> - Common Applications
> etc...
>



On Nov 27, 2007 9:14 PM, Don Parris <address@hidden> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I finally realized why my last e-mail didn't get a response.  I replied
> off-list to Kevin, not the whole list.  So here is my reply on the
> documentation structure, in the hopes of continuing to push it forward.
>
> Cheers,
> Don
>
>
>
> On Nov 14, 2007 7:44 PM, Don Parris <address@hidden> wrote:
> >
> > On Nov 14, 2007 5:45 PM, Kevin Dean <address@hidden> wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > >
> > > On Nov 14, 2007 5:36 PM, Mark William Darbyshire <address@hidden>
> wrote:
> > > > Thanks Don.
> > > >
> > > > I've put your structure proposal on the Proposed Structure page. I'll
> > > > have a look at it and see what other sections I can think of. I'm
> > > > thinking that Using gNS should probably go before Administering gNS.
> But
> > > > then, on the other hand, I suppose it's a good idea to instill people
> > > > with good habits as soon as possible.
> > >
> > > I questioned that myself too, how advanced is "advanced". I say "Users
> > > and Groups" and instantly said "If they don't know they shouldn't mess
> > > with it" but then realized that a lot of people share a single
> > > computer and they want to have "My" account and "The Wife's" account.
> > > This is, in my mind, a pretty basic task and would explain why they
> > > need that information in the beginning. That's why I'm wondering if
> > > breaking things into "advanced" might be a bad idea; just ensure the
> > > documentation maintains a good mesh of ideas (i.e. Reference "Command
> > > Line Basics" before delving into how to write a BASH script that
> > > mounts remote NFS shares, rsyncs the user's home directory while
> > > exluding ~backup files) :)
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > NFS, etc. really belong under administration, imo.  Maybe "advanced" is
> the wrong word.  In fact, using that term might actually convince a user
> that they cannot do it, just because they don't perceive themselves as
> "advanced".
> >
> > Perhaps we should have a section called "Servers" or "Servers and
> Clients".  It's kind of admin stuff, but can be used by newbies wanting to
> learn and experienced users alike.
> >
> > Essentially, everything falls under Installing, Administering or Using the
> system.  But I do think many users will want something beyond the basics
> here.  Hence the "Servers" Suggestion.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > >
> > >
> > > >
> > > > I suppose one big question is: "How advanced is advanced?" Basic use
> of
> > > > the command line? Shell scripting?
> > >
> > > Perhaps not judging "advanced" or not. Personally, there are some
> > > things I do on CLI that are so basic (IMO) that I'd be upset if they
> > > were deemed "advanced" and some things on the GUI that would baffle me
> > > if I had to use them as text only. My solution?
> > >
> > > 1. How to install additional software on gNewSense
> > >
> > > gNewSense includes Synaptic/Adept to manage software. You can use this
> > > program by going to the menu... Here's a screenshot...
> > >
> > > ALTERNATIVELY you can use the command line tools
> > >
> > > sudo apt-get install some-package
> > >
> > > ***
> > >
> > > Don't make the command line "advanced", just put it as an alternative.
> > > After all, GNU/Linux isn't "harder" to use than Windows in most cases,
> > > it's just different.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > I agree wholeheartedly with this, and reiterate my thought above about the
> negative connotations of "advanced".  I'm glad y'all raised the point.
> >
> >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > > I suppose it would be a waste of time
> > > > writing that sort of thing, since there are plenty of other tutorials
> > > > that cover that ground, but we could still offer links to such
> > > > tutorials.
> > > >
> >
> >
> > I can go along with this, but I think we need to include some things, like
> using apt-get, that might be somehow tied to the distro (kind of like
> UbuntuGuide).  But yes, links to other good tutorials on using the command
> line would be the best approach.
> >
> >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > > In addition to the normal documentation, we'll need some sort of
> section
> > > > that provides help for specific hardware. This sort of thing can't all
> > > > be structured into the main documentation. There is such a collection
> of
> > > > pages, currently at http://wiki.gnewsense.org/UserExperiences/ but it
> > > > needs a bit of work. Some of the articles on that page would actually
> > > > belong in the main Documentation. So I suppose that is a major part of
> > > > "Configuring Funky Hardware".
> > > >
> >
> >
> > Actually, we could put a link to a whole hardware section from the
> documentation ToC.  Other links need to be placed at strategic places in the
> site, but definitely include a link from the documentation page.
> >
> >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > > Please put your name or user name with a link to your profile in the
> > > > appropriate column at http://wiki.gnewsense.org/Main/CurrentProjects
> > > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > Done.
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> >
> >
> > Don
> > --
> > D.C. Parris
> > Minister, Journalist, Free Software Advocate
> > https://www.xing.com/profile/Don_Parris
> > http://www.linkedin.com/in/dcparris
>
>
>
> --
> D.C. Parris
> Minister, Journalist, Free Software Advocate
> https://www.xing.com/profile/Don_Parris
>  http://www.linkedin.com/in/dcparris
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