I agree with you entirely on this point. I am finding that in most cases when something can't be done with Linux, it is because it is more work to find out how to do it than it is worth, not because it is actually an impossibility.
Along this line, I can see a lot of potential value to simply rearchiving this existing data in its raw form into a topical treed structure which would eliminate the need of text searching to find answers. From that point on, comments could be posted and existing data could be more easily edited into detailed documentation which at this point in time, simply doesn't exist. In turn, that documentation could simply be burned to CDROM periodically as Mandrake itself is updated. Once such an archive were created, information could be pulled from a wide array of sources and either copied or linked into it on an ongoing basis. The HUGE PROBLEM that Linux faces in terms of documentation is the fact that 90% of it will be in some way obsolete within a year. No other existing technology faces this kind of problem. Linux development is web based and extremely dynamic. The creation of ducumentation must also be web based and extremely dynamic. This also would seem to indicate that putting a lot of effort on archiving older data from newsgroups and forums would not be very productive and that the greatest benefit would be acheived by maintaining and updating such an archive going forward. MUO is absolutely the best spot to host such an effort IMHO. Borsenkow Andrej wrote: >Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >========================================== > >Much is written here and in the Mandrake forums that can be found >nowhere else. Problems presentled here are generally pursued to a >solution or set aside if none can be found. After hassling with >these problems since the release of 7.0 and learning quite a bit >along the way, I feel very strongly that there is one major, >serious, and potentially damaging hole in greater adoption of >Mandrake that needs to start being addressed now. This hole is the >absence of organized, graded and thorough documentation. I have >hard copies of much of the material currently available that >directly affects my system. I suspect that most of the others here, >particularly those who regularly answer questions, have done >something similar. With the arrival of beta 3 of Mandrake 8.2, >this ad hoc approach must start coming to an end. Information >spread across man pages, on distro docs, how-to's, faq's is >information not often found by those who need it. > >At the beginning of the week I have joined the forum at >http://www.mandrakeuser.org and have been both pleasantly and >unpleasantly surprised. The documentation section, for those who >have not been there, is first rate, yet produced by just one person >who is straining under the load. There are some extremely competent >problem-solvers in the forum as well as some extremely bad ones, >most of whose ill-formed advice remains uncorrected because ofthe >clumsiness of the web interface. While many here (myself included) >would not give up the free-for-all that is this newsgroup and the >folks over at the Mandrake Forums would not want to give up the web >interface, there has to be a way of bringing the knowledge being >both collected and created together in one place and then >systematically indexing it so that those searching can find it. >There has to be a way of bringing together Mandrake-related >information from the Web and Usenet. > >The many programs on the Mandrake distro need to identified and >explained beyond the cryptic titles that cause many to be >overlooked. The amount raised by the Mandrake Club would not pay a >top flight technical writer for a year much less meet the volumes of >information required here. What is needed is a mechanism to correct >this problem. In another thread on another subject, Guido Draheim >suggested creating our own CD of material to accompany Mandrake, but >as emerged in the discussion, how? who, etc. >Producing a CD of documentation is as large an undertaking but can >involve many, more people. For the routine instructions, individual >users can take a program and write it up. Some of our more literate >particpants can edit the material, and it can be posted to a web >site for all to take a whack at. For the more serious problems, we >have our own supremely qualified experts who can sift through the >problems presented here and coherently organize and edit the answers >that are given out anyway. Others who do not feel comfortable >writing, can scour the newsgroups and web sites for material >relevant to Mandrake and the programs included with the distro. > >I do not see this as happening with 8.2 but maybe 8.3. I see it as >a group endevour independent of Mandrake in the interest of >objectivity. This would be far greater payback than membership in >the Mandrake Club, >and give them a leg up in the corporate marketplace they are >justifiably pursuing while guaranteeing a broad base of individual >users. > >An idea worth considering? > >Bluebeard. > >
