[wp-docs] Feedback request - WordPress Help Manual platform

Mika A Epstein ipstenu at ipstenu.org
Fri Oct 5 17:01:22 UTC 2012 

Just as an FYI, we have a goal! Be done with version 1 by the Summit! :D

We'd love help getting the last pages bashed out. Perfection will come, 
but as with all things, release and then iterate ;)

> Jerry Bates <mailto:fittingsites at gmail.com>
> October 5, 2012 11:55 AM
> Hi Marc,
>
> Again, I invite you to join us on the User Manual project 
> <http://make.wordpress.org/support/editor-access/>; I don't think any 
> of us working on docs currently believe that it is a perfect system 
> (and we debate it pretty frequently) but it is at least a place to 
> start.  Currently new users have /nothing to turn/ to from 
> WordPress.org and that is a gap we're all trying to bridge.
>
> You may not agree with it as it stands now, but our aim is to release 
> early and often, and refine as we go.  Who knows where we'll be when 
> we get to version 2 and beyond, but for now any help is 
> appreciated, and would place you at the heart of discussions as to how 
> to make it better as we move forward.
>
> That or work on a plugin; you're getting a lot of encouragement here 
> to explore that route as well.
>
> Best of luck,
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Jerry Bates  |  Creative Director  |  FittingSites.com
> WEB: http://FittingSites.com <http://fittingsites.com/>
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/JerrySarcastic
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>
>
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> Jane Wells <mailto:jane at automattic.com>
> October 5, 2012 11:02 AM
> On 10/5/12 11:42 AM, Marc Beneteau wrote:
>>
>> Sorry Jane I am now confused."that is what the support group is 
>> working on http://svnbook.red-bean.com/"… you mean the Codex people 
>> (this list)?Or is this a separate group?I want to be invited to that.
>>
> There's no special invitation, you just start contributing. The group 
> is at http://make.wordpress.org/support. That includes both support 
> forums and documentation. The Codex is the existing documentation. The 
> handbooks are the new documentation project they are working on there. 
> Review the history on the blog there for more information. This list 
> (along with the forums list) is semi-deprecated in favor of the blog, 
> which is more accessible to potential contributors.
>
>>  I have stuff to contribute but I am not very interested in working 
>> on a legacy platform, I hope that's clear now,
>>
> It's been clear from your first email, as has been our disinterest in 
> pursuing the windows-style platform you prefer.
>
>> and also I disagree with you "the SVN book is just HTML", the 
>> organization of the topics is crucial,
>>
> Yes, but the organization of topics is CONTENT, not PLATFORM.
>
>> and also the decision of whether this is going to context-sensitive 
>> help inside the dashboard
>>
> Documentation and core ux are two different things. Changing the way 
> help is treated in the dashboard would go through the core team. Nacin 
> is the release lead, and 3.5 is already in beta, so suggestions for 
> new features will probably be taken in January at the beginning of the 
> 3.6 cycle. But again, there is nothing stopping you from making a 
> plugin that does things exactly the way you want them, and releasing 
> that. If someone who hasn't contributed to core before wants to make 
> suggestions to change the core ux/ui, having a publicly released 
> plugin that does what is being suggested will get more attention than 
> someone just coming in cold and saying "I think you should do x".
>
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> Marc Beneteau <mailto:docs at manifesting.net>
> October 5, 2012 10:42 AM
>
> Sorry Jane I am now confused."that is what the support group is 
> working on http://svnbook.red-bean.com/"… you mean the Codex people 
> (this list)?Or is this a separate group?I want to be invited to that.
>
> I have stuff to contribute but I am not very interested in working on 
> a legacy platform, I hope that's clear now, and also I disagree with 
> you "the SVN book is just HTML", the organization of the topics is 
> crucial, and also the decision of whether this is going to 
> context-sensitive help inside the dashboard (which I strongly 
> recommend and is part of the point of all this IMHO)
>
> Marc
>
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> Jane Wells <mailto:jane at automattic.com>
> October 5, 2012 9:21 AM
> On 10/5/12 9:53 AM, Marc Beneteau wrote:
>> I believe that Winhelp / Javahelp is the best documentation platform 
> Many people in this community just disagree. Sometimes we all just 
> have to agree to disagree and move on.
>
>> I may pursue resources you suggest but to be quite frank it's 
>> unlikely to happen without institutional support 
> I understand, but if it's not a passion project for you, it's unlikely 
> to get institutional support from an institution that isn't 
> particularly interested in it as a format to begin with.
>> My request was for a project manager, if I could get that we could 
>> likely get things started 
> I would also love to have a project manager to oversee our official 
> documentation projects... I've been looking for someone to take that 
> on for several years, in fact, which is one reason we don't have a 
> full awesome set of handbooks already. Again, if no one volunteered to 
> join you, you should probably look for a collaborator on a different 
> list. We cannot offer you a subsidized project manager for this project.
>
>> I also like very much http://svnbook.red-bean.com/ if that is a real 
>> option let's do it.
> That is what the support group is working on. They are working on 
> content first. The "platform" for the SVN book is just HTML; there's 
> nothing special to build.
>> It can always be converted to Winhelp later when you all see the light ;)
> You are free to convert any freely released content into this format, 
> but again, this format is not one that we intend to pursue.
>> I am trying to play with y'all, help me out will you
> I think multiple people on this list have tried to be helpful and have 
> pointed to the various avenues of contribution. If you don't want to 
> participate in any of those channels, and just want to do your own 
> thing, that's fine. Either way I think everyone agrees that there's 
> more than one way to help the community.
> j
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> Marc Beneteau <mailto:docs at manifesting.net>
> October 5, 2012 8:53 AM
> Jane,
>
> yes you are right, perhaps this is not the right forum for this type 
> of request
>
> You are also right that I believe that Winhelp / Javahelp is the best 
> documentation platform, and that I am very stubborn about this.  99% 
> of commercial software vendors agree with me as do the hundreds of 
> people who have bought into my platform.  I also get excited at the 
> idea of context-sensitive help inside WordPress dashboard, call me weird
>
> I may pursue resources you suggest but to be quite frank it's unlikely 
> to happen without institutional support since I have my own platform 
> that fills my needs already.  My request was for a project manager, if 
> I could get that we could likely get things started (and btw there was 
> never any question of paid development, any technical school or 
> university would be happy to lend student support to such a venture, 
> but someone still needs to initiate it)
>
> I also like very much http://svnbook.red-bean.com/ if that is a real 
> option let's do it.  It can always be converted to Winhelp later when 
> you all see the light ;), and/or when the platform is ready for 
> prime-time.
>
> I am trying to play with y'all, help me out will you
>
> marc
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Mika A Epstein (aka Ipstenu)
http://ipstenu.org | http://halfelf.org

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