Deb Richardson (deb@linuxcare.com)
Mon, 31 Jan 2000 00:36:04 -0500
==================
New OSWG Website
==================
After staying up well past my bedtime for a few too many nights in a
row, I'm pleased to announce that the new Open Source Writers Group
website is live and ready for action:
The front page is a slashdot-like "weblog" where news and announcements
about Open Source documentation and relevant issues can be posted.
These front page stories are moderated for appropriateness, and will be
edited for typos/spelling, etc.
You can also register as an OSWG volunteer through a handy web form. If
you were listed on the old OSWG site, I ask that you go to the new site
and add a new listing for yourself. A number of the old volunteer bios
are now out of date, so I'd like to get a fresh list in the new
database. Here's the volunteer registration form:
http://www.oswg.org:8080/oswg/query/volunteer_registration_form
Open Source projects can also register (to indicate their need for
documentation volunteers) using a similar web-based interface.
Eventually, I'll be building a "projects/volunteers" cross-referencing
system so it will be easier for people to find projects they're
interested in (and vice versa). The projects registration form can be
found here:
http://www.oswg.org:8080/oswg/query/project_registration_form
=================================
Open Source Documentation Index
=================================
I would also like to announce the Open Source Documentation Index
(OSDI). The OSDI is actually part of the new OSWG site. You can find
more details about this here:
http://www.oswg.org:8080/oswg/949297859/index_html
Comments are welcome, volunteers are even more welcome :) Indexing is
(to be frank) a bit of a pain in the butt. I did manage to create over
250 entries in the last few days, however, so if we could get a small
team of volunteers together, we could do some pretty amazing work in a
relatively short period of time. (No, I wouldn't ever expect anyone to
do that many entries in that amount of time, don't worry :)
Why don't I just let Jane-Random-User create index entries? Well,
because I'd like for us to maintain a certain level of quality control
in the index. Indexers will have the opportunity to decide whether a
document is appropriate for inclusion, to categorize it properly, and to
enter a concise but informative abstract. Additionally, if they wish,
indexers will have first crack at entering a comment/review for the
entry, so if the document is hideously out of date, s/he can mention
that in the first comment. Future users (or the document's author) can
provide comments later if the document is updated or improved. The
comments are listed in reverse order, so the newest comments are always
at the top.
As you might suspect, I have lots of plans for the index and for the
site in general. I think it's at a "usable" stage at this point,
however, and I'd like to start getting the word out. I will be
enhancing sections as I get the time, and if you have any suggestions
about how any of it can improved, please let me know. The OSWG lists
have been disconcertingly quiet lately, and I'm just not of the "silence
means consent" school. I would really appreciate your feedback and
input.
- deb
-- deb@oswg.org deb@linuxchix.org
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