[FM Discuss] Floss Manuals - any links or referrals to paid work?

[Andy Oram]

I'm coming in to this discussion late and I'll just add a couple
things. I don't have a direct answer to the original question, but
the question is about the "relationship" between volunteering and
getting paid, so it's an open-ended question.

First, I got paid for some work I did for FLOSS Manuals. I did some
organizing work (preparing an outline and recruiting authors) for the
CiviCRM manual, and I applied my professional editing skills during
and after the sprint. These skills are developmental, not just
suggestions for changes in wording or simple things like that.

Still, I don't know what the boundary should be between volunteer and
paid work. I don't want to poison the well of volunteerism. I think I
was adding value that volunteers can't normally do, and I guess that
is the determining factor.

My other point is linked to the CiviCRM experience, as well as to
other discussions like Anne Gentle's book on tech writing. Working on
an open source project is community work, and being a good community
member--even a community leader--is just as important as good writing
or editorial skills.

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Andy Oram  O'Reilly Media                     email: andyo at oreilly.com
Editor     10 Fawcett Street, Fourth Floor         voice: 617-499-7479
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