> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Friday, September 15, 2000 1:13 AM > I would much much sooner see someone, anyone, take note of questions > that frequently appear in this (and any other related) forum and to > (re)write the manual sections that have thus far been inadequate in > providing the information sought by those asking the questions Well, no one has volunteered for this. Since you are included in "someone, anyone" maybe you will. > Perhaps if the person editing the FAQ were also dedicated to updating > the manual and keeping it relevant to user needs then I wouldn't argue > against a general FAQ. However with very limited volunteer resources > I'm quite certain that maintenance of an FAQ should be the lowest > possible priority in the project. Someone has volunteered to edit a FAQ. Maybe you, or someone else, can implement the second half of this solution and update the manual periodically based on the contents of the FAQ. The convenience of a FAQ, even with adequate formal documentation, has been demonstrated elsewhere. The inconvenience of the lack of a FAQ, I believe, has been demonstrated here. There is no way to ensure that no one will ever write in with a question like, "Could you tell me what CVS is, and how I use it?" The fact that a FAQ will not prevent this does not mean that a FAQ would be futile. Of course, a FAQ should always be maintained knowing that it will be used to improve the documentation. Think about why the cvs chapters from Fogel ( :-) have been so helpful. First, it increases the likelihood of finding the information you need if you can see it in more than one format. Another reason is that Karl Fogel's book, Open Source Develpment With CVS, deals not only with cvs itself, but also the supporting tools, like cvs2cl. These might be considered out of place in a manual specifically for cvs. They would not be out of place in this list or in the FAQ. Updates to the manual do not reach everyone as quickly as a FAQ mailed to the list would. The manual I use as a reference was downloaded months ago. I suppose I'll get a newer copy when I get an update of cvs or when and if I run into a problem because my document is out of date. Jerry
