Ruth Hoffman wrote:
Hi Scott:
IMO, the reality is that the very same people who make excellent
software developers do not or cannot write. As you may know, good
writing is not about "dumping" words into a Wiki. Good writing is a
skill, developed over many hours (dare I say years) of work. Writing
involves much more than putting words to paper. Organization, structure,
editing and re-editing, layout and finally publication are some of the
many components of a well written document.
The Wiki concept brings out the lazy writer in all of us. True, it is
well suited to the "community" software development process. No one in
the community is required to document anything. Worse yet, Wiki entries
no matter how incomprehensible, contradictory or confusing may be
written with impunity. [Try doing that with software commits.]
My point: Anyone who has built a house (and I've done lots of home
rehabs) knows that the tools "make the man" - or in my case, the woman.
Regards,
Ruth
Have you read about the Django web publishing framework? It was created for
newspaper reporters that write well. I'm experimenting with installing it
for use along with OFBiz to create content + selling sites. It might be a
"good tool" that would allow separate credit for everyone's writing easily.
Just having good templates and a way to have credit for your work might inspire
more writing.
John Griessen
