Chris BONDE wrote: > I shall review for awhile, need instructions on what to look for.
Yes, indeed. Okay, so you have the Author role now. The *next* step is for you to read the latest copy of the style guide: http://oooauthors.org/en/authors/userguide2-pdl/resources/style_guide_v2.0.sxw You can stop after this document and start reviewing. Or if you prefer to read more, take a look at the editing primer: http://oooauthors.org/en/authors/userguide2-pdl/resources/editing_primer_v2.0.sxw/file_view These documents show you what to look for. How to edit, what things are important, which things aren't. But a basic guideline would be to say that our priorities are, in order: Priority #1: Accuracy -- the chapter is no good if it's wrong. Priority #2: Readable -- the chapter is no good if you can't understand it. Priority #3: Everything else. So, when you read, you should ask yourself "do these instructions make sense?", "do I understand them?". Ask yourself if there is a better way to explain a concept. You will find that practically all of the rules on the style guide and editing primer are centered around the concept of making the document clear. * Why should you avoid the passive voice? Because the passive voice is usually akward to read. * Why should you write in gender neutral form? Because gender-biased language gets in the way of communication. You get the idea. Oh, one last bit of advice. There are a couple of really cool OOo features you should use: 1) Tracking changes. Edit > Changes > Record This is a great feature. OOo will keep track of everything you change in the chapter. When you submit your review, the chapter maintainer can then view your all your edits. Better yet, the maintainer can accept or reject each change individually. This is a blessing for both maintainers and reviewers. It's a blessing for you because you don't have to worry about whether (let's say, Peter) will like your changes. You know that if Peter doesn't like them, he can just reject them. No harm done. So you can afford to be more daring, and change anything you feel should be different. 2) Notes Insert > Note This is like adding sticky notes to a paper. You can add comments. It's a great complement to tracking changes. You can, say things like "I think we should explain things this way...". You can add comments that don't correspond to any particular edit. For example: "I don't understand this section" "What is an CWS? I don't think you explained that" "How about a screenshot here?" "Hey, that's a cool feature!" You get the idea. In any event, go ahead and read the style guide. And when you feel ready, grab a document from the review list. If you have questions (and you will ;) please don't hesitate to ask on this list. Whoever is online at the moment will be happy to help you. Once again, welcome aboard! Cheers, -- Daniel Carrera | I don't want it perfect, Join OOoAuthors today! | I want it Tuesday. http://oooauthors.org |
