Re: 3.4 Release Notes
On Wed, Mar 7, 2012 at 10:41 AM, Dave Neary dne...@gnome.org wrote: Hi, On 03/07/2012 10:28 AM, Allan Day wrote: Now, a question. We typically keep the release notes secret until the release itself. At least one member of the press has told me that this makes it quite difficult for him to cover GNOME releases, since there is little information about the release until it is actually out. Is there a way we can disclose what will be in the release prior to release day itself? Maybe the release notes could be made public with the release candidate, for example? It would be really useful to know what other projects do in this regard. I'm all in favour of working on the release notes in a publicly accessible repository, even in the wiki (although adding pretty screenshots is not easy in the wiki). We can of course avoid publicising the URL until the release comes out, but having the notes developed in the open will allow people to get a head-start, as you point out Allan. Cheers, Dave. That might help. However, I feel that we need something a bit more proactive to get the word out to journalists. We might struggle to do it for this release, but having a separate press release and some kind of release notes for the release candidate could be a good way to get the word out. Allan -- marketing-list mailing list marketing-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/marketing-list
Re: 3.4 Release Notes
On Thu, Mar 8, 2012 at 10:47 AM, Andre Klapper ak...@gmx.net wrote: On Thu, 2012-03-08 at 09:59 +, Allan Day wrote: We might struggle to do it for this release, but having a separate press release and some kind of release notes for the release candidate could be a good way to get the word out. Release Candidate = two weeks before the release. Oh? The schedule [1] says it's one week before the release. String freeze is three weeks before the release and we are always late starting with writing release notes and finding volunteers so rather unlikely. It was just an idea. But I don't see why we couldn't aim to have *something* (it doesn't have to be the full, finished release notes) ready a week in advance. Allan [1] https://live.gnome.org/ThreePointThree -- marketing-list mailing list marketing-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/marketing-list
Re: 3.4 Release Notes
On Thu, 2012-03-08 at 10:57 +, Allan Day wrote: On Thu, Mar 8, 2012 at 10:47 AM, Andre Klapper ak...@gmx.net wrote: On Thu, 2012-03-08 at 09:59 +, Allan Day wrote: We might struggle to do it for this release, but having a separate press release and some kind of release notes for the release candidate could be a good way to get the word out. Release Candidate = two weeks before the release. Oh? The schedule [1] says it's one week before the release. Argh. So much for my reading skills. :) Sometimes it's one week and sometimes it's two weeks, also depends on external influences on the schedule (releases vs public holidays; no freezes yet when conferences like GUADEC or hackfests take place; etc). It was just an idea. But I don't see why we couldn't aim to have *something* (it doesn't have to be the full, finished release notes) ready a week in advance. I agree, but I'm afraid that reality (and its manpower) will bite us. (We also dream of documentation freezes for translators. :-) andre -- mailto:ak...@gmx.net | failed http://blogs.gnome.org/aklapper -- marketing-list mailing list marketing-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/marketing-list
Re: 3.4 Release Notes
On Thu, Mar 8, 2012 at 13:10, Andre Klapper ak...@gmx.net wrote: On Thu, 2012-03-08 at 10:57 +, Allan Day wrote: On Thu, Mar 8, 2012 at 10:47 AM, Andre Klapper ak...@gmx.net wrote: On Thu, 2012-03-08 at 09:59 +, Allan Day wrote: We might struggle to do it for this release, but having a separate press release and some kind of release notes for the release candidate could be a good way to get the word out. Release Candidate = two weeks before the release. Oh? The schedule [1] says it's one week before the release. Argh. So much for my reading skills. :) Sometimes it's one week and sometimes it's two weeks, also depends on external influences on the schedule (releases vs public holidays; no freezes yet when conferences like GUADEC or hackfests take place; etc). It was just an idea. But I don't see why we couldn't aim to have *something* (it doesn't have to be the full, finished release notes) ready a week in advance. I agree, but I'm afraid that reality (and its manpower) will bite us. (We also dream of documentation freezes for translators. :-) Yes! :-) -- marketing-list mailing list marketing-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/marketing-list
Re: 3.4 Release Notes
On Thu, March 8, 2012 4:59 am, Allan Day wrote: On Wed, Mar 7, 2012 at 10:41 AM, Dave Neary dne...@gnome.org wrote: Hi, On 03/07/2012 10:28 AM, Allan Day wrote: Now, a question. We typically keep the release notes secret until the release itself. At least one member of the press has told me that this makes it quite difficult for him to cover GNOME releases, since there is little information about the release until it is actually out. Is there a way we can disclose what will be in the release prior to release day itself? Maybe the release notes could be made public with the release candidate, for example? It would be really useful to know what other projects do in this regard. I'm all in favour of working on the release notes in a publicly accessible repository, even in the wiki (although adding pretty screenshots is not easy in the wiki). We can of course avoid publicising the URL until the release comes out, but having the notes developed in the open will allow people to get a head-start, as you point out Allan. Cheers, Dave. That might help. However, I feel that we need something a bit more proactive to get the word out to journalists. We might struggle to do it for this release, but having a separate press release and some kind of release notes for the release candidate could be a good way to get the word out. We've talked about putting together a list of journalists to contact in the past (I think that was Jos's idea). Perhaps this is the time we should put this together and try to contact folks? We could point to the in progress notes, which might prompt them to ask targeted questions that could be easier to address... karen -- marketing-list mailing list marketing-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/marketing-list
Re: 3.4 Release Notes
On Wed, Mar 7, 2012 at 10:25 PM, Sriram Ramkrishna s...@ramkrishna.me wrote: On Wed, Mar 7, 2012 at 1:08 PM, Andre Klapper ak...@gmx.net wrote: I was thinking of switching from Docbook to Mallard for 3.6 (I didn't have time to prepare this for 3.4 already). The advantages of GNOME 3 page style are unclear to me currently, Advantages of moving over to using Wordpress for the release notes (that I can think of): 1. The notes will be on gnome.org rather than under library.gnome.org/misc (why are the notes for our new release in a 'library'? why are they 'miscellaneous'?) 2. Avoid the bookishness of the format (sub-headings everywhere, boxes of links interrupting the flow of the document), which is rather stilted. 3. Allow embedding of richer media, such as lightboxes, image galleries and videos. 4. Allow flexible design, facilitating a more stylish and attractive layout. 5. Allow division of the notes into separate pages, rather than being a single *huge* page. however I would first have to know what markup language this move would imply, Wordpress reduces the need for markup. The only markup you need is html for formatting and embedding media, plus for bits of fancier page layout. plus if anybody would be actually willing to prepare this move. Actually writing the notes and doing the markup would be less work than with Docbook or Mallard, so in that respect we'd save time and effort. However, we would need a bit of extra help on the web development side if we wanted to make the notes look really nice. I'm interested in this as well. As Shaun noted about translations I would like to see this translated in as many languages as possible. We'll need to start on this soon. Most of the pieces are in place to make gnome.org translatable using the standard GNOME infrastructure. We just need to hook it up to damn lies [1]. I've spoken to Vinicius and he's confident that we can have it ready in time to get the release notes translated. Allan [1] https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=671647 -- IRC: aday on irc.gnome.org Blog: http://afaikblog.wordpress.com/ -- marketing-list mailing list marketing-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/marketing-list
Re: 3.4 Release Notes
On Thu, Mar 8, 2012 at 11:59 AM, Allan Day allanp...@gmail.com wrote: On Wed, Mar 7, 2012 at 10:25 PM, Sriram Ramkrishna s...@ramkrishna.me wrote: On Wed, Mar 7, 2012 at 1:08 PM, Andre Klapper ak...@gmx.net wrote: I was thinking of switching from Docbook to Mallard for 3.6 (I didn't have time to prepare this for 3.4 already). The advantages of GNOME 3 page style are unclear to me currently, Advantages of moving over to using Wordpress for the release notes (that I can think of): My main objection would be translation. One of the problems is that I would like to see our content/news/release notes translated so that we can have greater coverage. I feel that english makes us somewhat limited. At least, let's agree that if we do it on wordpress that we have it in English and Spanish. sri 1. The notes will be on gnome.org rather than under library.gnome.org/misc (why are the notes for our new release in a 'library'? why are they 'miscellaneous'?) 2. Avoid the bookishness of the format (sub-headings everywhere, boxes of links interrupting the flow of the document), which is rather stilted. 3. Allow embedding of richer media, such as lightboxes, image galleries and videos. 4. Allow flexible design, facilitating a more stylish and attractive layout. 5. Allow division of the notes into separate pages, rather than being a single *huge* page. however I would first have to know what markup language this move would imply, Wordpress reduces the need for markup. The only markup you need is html for formatting and embedding media, plus for bits of fancier page layout. plus if anybody would be actually willing to prepare this move. Actually writing the notes and doing the markup would be less work than with Docbook or Mallard, so in that respect we'd save time and effort. However, we would need a bit of extra help on the web development side if we wanted to make the notes look really nice. I'm interested in this as well. As Shaun noted about translations I would like to see this translated in as many languages as possible. We'll need to start on this soon. Most of the pieces are in place to make gnome.org translatable using the standard GNOME infrastructure. We just need to hook it up to damn lies [1]. I've spoken to Vinicius and he's confident that we can have it ready in time to get the release notes translated. Allan [1] https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=671647 -- IRC: aday on irc.gnome.org Blog: http://afaikblog.wordpress.com/ -- marketing-list mailing list marketing-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/marketing-list
Re: 3.4 Release Notes
On Thu, Mar 8, 2012 at 23:53, Sriram Ramkrishna s...@ramkrishna.me wrote: On Thu, Mar 8, 2012 at 11:59 AM, Allan Day allanp...@gmail.com wrote: On Wed, Mar 7, 2012 at 10:25 PM, Sriram Ramkrishna s...@ramkrishna.me wrote: On Wed, Mar 7, 2012 at 1:08 PM, Andre Klapper ak...@gmx.net wrote: I was thinking of switching from Docbook to Mallard for 3.6 (I didn't have time to prepare this for 3.4 already). The advantages of GNOME 3 page style are unclear to me currently, Advantages of moving over to using Wordpress for the release notes (that I can think of): My main objection would be translation. One of the problems is that I would like to see our content/news/release notes translated so that we can have greater coverage. I feel that english makes us somewhat limited. At least, let's agree that if we do it on wordpress that we have it in English and Spanish. IMHO translation is essential for introductions, presentations, overviews, news, release notes and such. These are the documents that can reach people who do not know/use GNOME. There should not be language barriers for potential new adopters. I like all the WP benefits listed, though it would be a severe regression to leave translation behind. So, what does supporting translation implies? Is it about 1. getting the right plugin https://www.google.com/search?q=wordpress+multilingual 2. interfacing with DL workflow (po files, git) Or? sri 1. The notes will be on gnome.org rather than under library.gnome.org/misc (why are the notes for our new release in a 'library'? why are they 'miscellaneous'?) 2. Avoid the bookishness of the format (sub-headings everywhere, boxes of links interrupting the flow of the document), which is rather stilted. 3. Allow embedding of richer media, such as lightboxes, image galleries and videos. 4. Allow flexible design, facilitating a more stylish and attractive layout. 5. Allow division of the notes into separate pages, rather than being a single *huge* page. however I would first have to know what markup language this move would imply, Wordpress reduces the need for markup. The only markup you need is html for formatting and embedding media, plus for bits of fancier page layout. plus if anybody would be actually willing to prepare this move. Actually writing the notes and doing the markup would be less work than with Docbook or Mallard, so in that respect we'd save time and effort. However, we would need a bit of extra help on the web development side if we wanted to make the notes look really nice. I'm interested in this as well. As Shaun noted about translations I would like to see this translated in as many languages as possible. We'll need to start on this soon. Most of the pieces are in place to make gnome.org translatable using the standard GNOME infrastructure. We just need to hook it up to damn lies [1]. I've spoken to Vinicius and he's confident that we can have it ready in time to get the release notes translated. Allan [1] https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=671647 -- IRC: aday on irc.gnome.org Blog: http://afaikblog.wordpress.com/ -- marketing-list mailing list marketing-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/marketing-list -- marketing-list mailing list marketing-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/marketing-list
