Re: Informal survey (was Re: Banner ads)

[Stein Gjoen <srgjoen@online.no>]

Guylhem Aznar wrote:
> 
> On Mon, Oct 25, 1999 at 03:25:03PM +0200, Stein Gjoen wrote:
> > We should get back to waliking before starting to run, I see
> > little benefit in expending time and effort on new avenues
> > when old ones are being left behind for no good reason. From
> > what I have seen the core team has not communicated any plans
> > to disband news:comp.os.linux.answers or has it? Unless it is
> 
> This is tighly linked with the ftp site ; please wait.
> Joshua is working on scripts to ease all this.
> 
> However I can write a quick&dirty bash script if it is *that* urgent for
> you.

Yes, we have no ideas what unexpected surprises are in store, so
I feel it is best to fire up some scripts or even do it by hand
so we get the documents out this month. Also it is a clear sign
of things getting back on tracks.

> Paul, can I put in on metalab?
> 
> > Also I believe it is better to present something which is
> > working well at a conference. Negative impressions from Slashdot
> > articles are probably not forgotten.
> 
> The LDP *is* back to work.

Not all parts are working yet, we discussed the news already,
and until it is working smoothly, I feel we should work on
getting it right before presenting something semi-working.

Don't forget your audience, many there will be interested in
how to get a large documentation project to work smoothly and
as has been shown on this list many here have also professional
interests in documentation. Too many "but..." and "real soon now"
will leave a bad impression. Demonstrating a smooth workflow
and fully integrated documentation WILL impress.

Then there is Slashdot. Personally I feel it is somewhat
sensationalistic and perhaps more interested in trivia than
constructive or informative articles and features. That
could perhaps be a question of focus. My attempts of getting
some Slashdot Poll runs for LDP failed, and I now see that
what catches the interest this week is 'Favorite "Power" Command'
with choices of 'kill -9', 'rm -rf' etc. Amongst the articles
I see genetically glow-in-the-dark christmas trees...
Much can be said about Slashdot but you can be sure the LDP
will be featured  in the future and you should realise someone
is bound to post a link to the list archive. By that time
all the problems should be solved. Nothing travels faster
than bad news.

> > > We can use publicity instead!
> >
> > Yes! On-line websites and news, and on-disk with installations. The
> > latter has plenty of opportunities for improvement, ref my
> > suggestions in an previous posting.
> 
> RedHat is helping both its users and the LDP having a "LDP" icon on the
> desktop of each GNOME user.

Interesting. Could you expand a bit on what that icon does? Can
it be clicked? Then what happens? This could be interesting.

> We should find new ways to promote the LDP ; would you like to make a
> list of possible opportunities?
> 
> I'm sorry but I can't find your previous posting.

It was the one (repeated a few times I'm afraid) where I proposed
extra tags for useful man page stub generation so HOWTOs could
be found using man -k keyword and also to generate META tags
for better web page indexing. I'll hunt it down, tidy it up and
update with some recent ideas on man page integration and
submit it under a new thread.

> > Is the FTP up yet? I submitted my data to get access but
> > never heard anything back.
> 
> It is not ready, coming soon.
> 
> > I'd like to add new ones. A quick check on my Redhat 6.0 machine
> > using
> 
> We have an icon on the GNOME desktop but looks like it is not enough.
> 
> Maybe should we ask for a short README.documentation to be put in
> /etc/skel ?

Yes, we need to cater for those who haven't gotten X11 up
and running yet. Many get no further than the command line
before they need help.

> It could explain man, info, what is the LDP, where documentation is, how
> to use it...
> 
> > Also many installations come up with a ready made list of
> > bookmarks etc. Freshmeat is listed, LDP is not. This too
> > should be a simple and efficent way of promoting LDP.
> 
> I didn't see this on a redhat 6.1 ; which installations are you talking
> about?

I use Debian 2.1 at home with Netscape Communicator 4.7
and the Debian installation system sets up some bookmarks.
I haven't checked the lynx bookmarks or other browsers.
There is also the default page that comes with an installation.

At work I have redhat 6.0 and the bookmarks for Netscape
is sparse. The default page lists "Linux Documentation Project"
but that link points to
	http://www.redhat.com/linux-info/ldp
which is redirected to
	http://www.redhat.com/knowledgebase/ldp
where you are met with the following text (slightly reformatted):
	To better serve you, redhat.com has been reorganized.
	The page you are looking for has been moved or
	no longer exists. Please check your URL or use
	the menu below. Remember to adjust your bookmarks.

(Rest of page snipped) This could perhaps be improved on.

It might be an idea to check all distribution and approach the
relevant contact persons on such matters. Redhat has been very
responsive in the past and I hope and believe the others will
too.

It would also be effective in making the LDP efficient for
the end users.

Regards,
   Stein Gjoen


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