Ideas and Plans for Improving Ubuntu Documentation

[damonw5]

Ha!ThatisTooFunny! WritingLikeThisIsWayBetterThanUsingSpaces which would just be, you know, readable....

And don't you love it whenPeopleWriteLikeThis and then you click on "whenPeopleWriteLikeThis" and it says "this page has not been created yet..."?

[UbuWu]

What the heck is CamelCase? Like, where does the word ComeFrom?

The CamelCase name comes from the uppercase "bumps" in the middle of the compound word, suggesting the humps of a camel.

ThatIsWhatWikipediaHasToSayAboutIt.

Seriously, I really don't get it why it is still being used. Might have been very useful for the first wiki's that existed, but it should have been abandoned a long time ago, especially on a site that should be helpful to new users, that probably haven't even heard of the name wiki.

[maruchan]

Here is my favorite test case:

User goes to: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/forum

"Hooray, I found a forum!"

*clicks on "hardware"*

"This doesn't look like a forum. What's this about pasting from the forums? And why do I add information under a relevant heading?"

*scratches head*

*clicks on "modem"*

"Whoa, what do I do with all this cd Desktop stuff?"

And what the fooey is behind that "CategoryCategory" link!?!

*reboots into windows*

[mattheweast]

I understand what you're saying here, but at the same time the guy could just read the page. It explains quite clearly what it is.

[kleeman]

Very funny and you have some valid points. The wiki guys are trying so some constructive feedback might be in order (mild suggestion late at night!)

Here is my favorite test case:

User goes to: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/forum

"Hooray, I found a forum!"

*clicks on "hardware"*

"This doesn't look like a forum. What's this about pasting from the forums? And why do I add information under a relevant heading?"

*scratches head*

*clicks on "modem"*

"Whoa, what do I do with all this cd Desktop stuff?"

And what the fooey is behind that "CategoryCategory" link!?!

*reboots into windows*

[mattheweast]

That link should be at the top of the Ubuntu.com home page.

Again, I understand this point: the UserDocumentation page has been difficult to find. However, this is caused by the fact that the wiki software does not redirect users to the front page of the wiki, which is clearly organised and points at the Documentation (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/FrontPage). Instead, it redirects users to the last wiki page they went to, which is really not helpful because it means that no users see the FrontPage, and we end up with loads of threads like this (this is not the first) saying "the wiki is disorganised".

Yes, it is disorganised, however if this bug is fixed, the situation will improve.

We are working hard on the UserDocumentation page, and hopefully it will become a good index of documentation.

Matt

[mattheweast]

Does anybody else hesitate to refer new users to the wiki?

As long as there is a doc team, why not just set up a new user docs-only site with a simple-to-navigate CMS and call it the official ubuntu guide? If people are going to wet their pants if they can't edit a page, let them leave a comment or sign up to be on the doc team.

I'm not sure whether Corey made this clear, so just to repeat: this _will_ be done by breezy. It's likely to be at http://help.ubuntu.com

In the meantime, we'll be setting up our "work in progress" documentation on our server. You can already see previews linked on the page https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DocteamProjects - as always, suggestions welcome to the doc team list



M

[matthew]

I've been watching the progress that has already been made in editing and shaping the wiki and I am very hopeful and expectant of good things. Up to now, however, I have thought it to be too "geek-oriented" (spoken as a charter member of geekdom) for the average n00b who just wants to know how to do something and couldn't care less about why/how the mechanism works. It is generally more complex than most people want as a starting point. The thread and pages listed above are great starting points, though.

BTW, this is from someone who has contributed to the wiki (as matthew5).

[DJ_Max]

I've been meaning to contribute to the documentation for some time. Just never had the, time.. Now that this thread as come up, I'm porting some docs I wrote on my computer to the wiki that I haven't found on them.

[mattheweast]

Cool! Thanks both of you for your work. Mail the docteam list or come into #ubuntu-doc on irc any time!

M