Thomas Schraitle wrote:
Although the above statement contains some truth, open source projects fail because of something different: the lack of documentation. :)
Treading very carefully :-)
I know, it's only one reason. This impression is probably influenced from my writer's point of view, but when you don't have (at least) something, it makes it really hard.
... for users of the software.
From my impressions with developers, they tend to underestimate the importance of documentation. Of course, there "natural" thinking is "Why should I 'document' my things? Why should I care? Read the code, it's there!"
Which may be a bit hard. Put a devs hat on and the important thing is working code. The thought (sometimes ) goes, I'll do the docs later.
It goes a bit off-topic, but I've written about this some time ago: http://lizards.opensuse.org/2009/01/16/the-value-of-good-documentation/
Summary (mine, maybe Thomas too) The 'code' (odd for docbook but you know what I mean) is important. for the users, the documentation is equally important... unless you have the brain the size of a planet. So having good documentation people on the project is just as important (some would say) as having the good coders. regards -- Dave Pawson XSLT XSL-FO FAQ. http://www.dpawson.co.uk --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
