[FM Discuss] mail-a-manual

[sophea]

my 1¢:
might avoid fiddly editing nightmare if you can specify a clear format
template/style guide for ascii contribs with spaces in the right
places and some specified mark up for headings etc. up front. a more
collaborative editing friendly alternative to email might be use svn
or other version control system, maybe with eg. latex to mark up
texts, or whatever ppl writing are comfortable with, that can be spat
out as something FM can eat afterwards. moving emails into the system
by hand, apart from being a tedious job, might create a break in the
writing process. tho alternatively it could be part of the editing
process and structuring of the manual if done with the group.
.sophea

2009/2/27 adam hyde <adam at flossmanuals.net>:
> hi,
>
> I was just thinking about the upcoming book sprint with the Free
> Software Foundation. We have just two days to write the manual. So we
> need to get contributions coming in beforehand...so, since we are
> sorting targeting the FSF audience to make contributions, and given that
> many of them dont live in GUIland like the rest of us, I was thinking
> maybe we could ask for contributions via email?
>
> Its easy to set up a FM email address to accept contribs, and even to
> add them automatically to a page in FM so anyone can read them. These
> could then be copy and pasted into the manual during the sprint...
>
> Then we could potentially start a small campaign (we have just under a
> month) to ask for email contributions - anything from short snippets, to
> entire chapters. I think the manual (the topic is 'introduction to the
> command line') suits this kind of contribution...anyone can mail in a
> short one liner command, an explanation of a command, examples, basic
> explanations of what is regex, what is a command, piping, what is a
> terminal, how to use man pages etc etc
>
> any thoughts?
>
> adam
>
>
> --
> Adam Hyde
> Founder FLOSS Manuals
> German mobile : + 49 15 2230 54563
> Email : adam at flossmanuals.net
>
> "Free manuals for free software"
> http://www.flossmanuals.net/about
>
>
>
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