[FM Discuss] fm inspires occupy to make a book

[Daniel James]

Hi a.l.e,

> the biggest issue that blocks me from jumping into flossmanuals is
> the burden of having to rent (and pay!) a server with python support

If you mean for a particular language server, like Italian, maybe you
could find a sponsor.

> and having to manage the whole server in a secure way.

Sourcefabric can manage a server for you, but of course that has a cost too.

> (the other issue being that it's hard -- or impossible -- to work 
> offline on the manuals)

I sometimes take notes from a PDF version, then write plain text
corrections which I paste in later.

> currently, i'm looking for (and working on) an alternative way to
> create manuals in a collaborative way.

Rather than start another project, I would suggest looking at something
like git integration for Booktype. Then you could work on your own copy
offline, and push the changes when you were online.

> the first 
> step should not be to worry about the server: one should right away
> be able to start translating his first book into his language and
> publish it.

Ideally, yes, but Booktype needs some development before the translation
workflow is that smooth. For example when you import a book from another
Booktype server, you could tag the new copy as being in a certain
language. This would enable translations to be linked back to their
original source versions.

For the maintenance of translations, we need side-by-side chapter
comparisons with highlighted diffs - another place where git integration
might help. If you would like to help improve the translation workflow,
that would be very welcome.

Cheers!

Daniel