[wp-docs] WordPress Help Manual on WP Academy

Fri Sep 21 20:15:49 UTC 2012

Thanks to everyone for thoughtful replies.

My real issue is that I don't think of standard Wiki as an effective
platform for writing documentation.  Better is Media Wiki:

http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki

Which is still quite a bit behind commercial help authoring software,
because in commercial help authoring software when you hyperlink into a
topic, the Table of Contents on the left opens up to that topic (see
http://wpcademy.tv/ww3.htm) .  (Perhaps you think this is a "nice feature",
but for me it is key.  I am a perfectionist which is the reason I became a
technical writer in the first place and certainly the reason that I am as
successful at it as I am)

Has there been any interest or any discussion in building a Wordpress
manual on Media Wiki?  I could get behind that.

Marc
marc at wpacademy.tv

On Fri, Sep 21, 2012 at 2:16 PM, Lorelle on WordPress <
lorelleonwordpress at gmail.com> wrote:

> I've updated this page with official links that meet with the guidelines.
> Thank you for pointing out the links. If you find any others, please bring
> them to our attention, or you may contribute to the Codex by editing and
> removing them yourself and replacing them with links that meet our
> guidelines. We are always eager to help new volunteers on the Codex learn
> more about how it works, and cleaning up dead links and such is a great way
> to get started.
>
> As Michael said, adding valuable information to the Codex is always
> appreciated.
>
> Please contact the WordPress Foundation for ways to help the WordPress
> Community. They may have some excellent suggestions.
>
> Again, thanks for asking.
>
> Lorelle
>
>
>
> On Fri, Sep 21, 2012 at 10:32 AM, Marc Beneteau <docs at manifesting.net>wrote:
>
>> Thanks Lorelle, but with all due respect (and not to get into an extended
>> debate on this, but possibly to hear some other voices), the Codex links to
>> at least three commercial providers of documentation here:
>>
>> http://codex.wordpress.org/Getting_More_Help
>> (In "other helpful resources" at the bottom)
>>
>> and I would humbly (or maybe not so humbly, what the heck) suggest that
>> the publication of the world's  first true WordPress "Help Manual" (as in
>> Winhelp and Java Help) is, what, significant?  Worthy of letting people
>> know about it?
>>
>> "Clearly stated this is not public domain and has a cost" - this is for
>> the documentation platform, I mention this merely for the curious.  The
>> first four modules of our WordPress LMS are free (
>> http://wpacademy.tv/ww3.htm).  And yes there is an upgrade cost.
>>
>> What do some other people think?
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> Marc
>>
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Sep 21, 2012 at 1:11 PM, Lorelle on WordPress <
>> lorelleonwordpress at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I'm sure an official voice will come in and give you the definitive
>>> answer, but I can tell you from vast experience, the answer to a link from
>>> the Codex is no.
>>>
>>> I believe we've had these discussions with wpacademy.tv in the past, or
>>> something similar. There are many such sites and services, and the names
>>> are so similar. There have been many "help manuals" and training and video
>>> programs for WordPress over the years.WordPress has Learn WordPress, an
>>> official source of organized videos and tutorials, and WordPress.tv
>>> resources, and we've been working on bringing videos into the WordPress
>>> Codex for a long time as well.
>>>
>>> The WordPress Codex does not link to commercial sites as a rule. Please
>>> review the http://codex.wordpress.org/Codex:Guidelines regarding
>>> external links. You've clearly stated that this is not public domain code
>>> and has a cost.
>>>
>>> If you would like to pursue this further, contact the WordPress
>>> Foundation as they may be able to help you in other ways. There are many
>>> ways to contribute to the WordPress Community beyond the Codex.
>>>
>>> Good luck with your project and thank you for asking.
>>>
>>> Lorelle
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, Sep 21, 2012 at 8:04 AM, Marc Beneteau <docs at manifesting.net>wrote:
>>>
>>>> Quick question for y'all -- does something like this warrant a link
>>>> back from the Codex?
>>>>
>>>> http://wpacademy.tv/ww3.htm
>>>>
>>>> Please note the first four free modules including the "WordPress basic
>>>> training sequence".  I believe this might be the world's first true
>>>> WordPress "Help Manual" (meaning a collection of hyperlinked topics with an
>>>> expanding / collapsing table of contents, as in Winhelp or Java Help)
>>>>
>>>> A note about the technology used.  It is an integration of help
>>>> authoring software (Help & Manual) with a WordPress membership site.  I am
>>>> making this technology available for free to any open-source or
>>>> public-interest projects, however I doubt that it would be useful for this
>>>> purpose, as it is not a multi-authoring system.  It's also not public
>>>> domain code, the H&M software is about $500 and it uses the Thesis theme
>>>> ($100) and Wishlist Member (also $100).
>>>>
>>>> I am always looking for ways to collaborate with open-source projects,
>>>> including donating this or any of our other content to Codex, so let me
>>>> know if you have any ideas to marc at wpacademy.tv.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks,
>>>>
>>>> Marc
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>>
>>>
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