Re: My introduction

[John Fleck <jfleck inkstain net>]

On Fri, Jan 18, 2002 at 01:15:57PM -0500, Daniel Carrera wrote:
> As suggested by the mailing list, I will introduce myself:
> 
> My name is Daniel Carrera, I am a graduate student of Mathematics and I
> wish to contribute to Gnome.  I thought that documentation would be a good
> place to help since it's very important and requires comparatively little
> familiarity with the code.
> 
> How do you people work?  Do you normally have only one maintainer per
> document?
> 

Typically we have one maintainer per document, yes, though we have
a number right now where the maintainers are no longer actively involved.

> How much work does it usually take to maintain a document once it's
> written?
> 

The work required is minimal once a document is written. The only
thing required is updates if changes to the application are made, or
in response to user inquiries in cases where we have completely
confused them.

> Can any one suggest a document to get started on?  In particular, which
> documents are needed most?
> 

You're joining us at a tricky time. The alpha version of GNOME 2 was
released this week, and the area where the most help is needed is in
updating documentation to reflect the new system. This requires the
patience needed to get GNOME 2 running. Over the next month, the main
area of work will be updating documentation and screenshots to reflect
the new system.

This also entails converting the documentation to DocBook xml from its
current DocBook sgml.

If you're willing to tackle some of that, there is room for work in
the gnome-utils and gnome-applets package. Let us know if you're up
for this particular sort of agony and I (gnome-utils) or Trevor Curtis
(gnome-applets) will help hook you up with a particular doc that needs
help.

> How do I "hand in" the document?  Should I send a tar ball with the
> DocBook and the image files? Where do I send it?
> 

We work in cvs, which allows a master copy and easy modification
through the use of diffs. There's a good explanation of how to use it
here:
http://developer.gnome.org/projects/gdp/handbook/gdp-handbook/gettingstarted.html

> I'd like to say something upfront:
> My schedule is very erratic. Depending mostly on school, some times I'll
> be able to dedicate a lot of time, and some times very little.  Is this
> acceptable?
> 

Yeah, that's the way many of us are. :-) 

> Thanks for your help.  I look forward to making a useful contribution.
> 

We look forward to working with you! Welcome.

John