Call for Authors - New User Guides and Tutorials

[iceportal]

Hello, everyone! My name is Chris.

I started a website a while back called The Ubuntu Experiment (http://ubuntu.gridrunners.com) with the hopes of making an introduction to Ubuntu for new users and Windows converts. The basic goal would be to explain things in a simple and straightforward way that the target audience could easily and quickly learn, in the hopes that their experiences with Ubuntu would be pleasurable as opposed to difficult. The idea was to introduce them to the Ubuntu OS step-by-step, with minimal command-line usage.

So far I've heard many good reviews of the site, and have been pleased at the response. However, I've found my time limited with my new job (web designer for a local company), and as such have been unable to devote as much time as I'd like to the project.

Thus, I decided to make it a community project. After all, community is one of the best and biggest strengths of Ubuntu (and Linux as a whole). So I installed Drupal (an open-source Content Management System) and set it up so that I could let other users write tutorials and guides for the Ubuntu Experiment.

Yes, I know there are other beginners' guides out there. Yes, I know they can use my help, just as I can use theirs. And yes, I do intend fully to support those sites that I find, as best as possible, by making the content of the Ubuntu Experiment free (GNU Open Doc License, or a Creative Commons license) so that they may use my tutorials as they see fit.

I hope for this endeavor to become a worthwhile guide for those new to Ubuntu. As such, I would like to invite you, the Ubuntu Community, to help me make the ubuntu Experiment one of the best guides for new users on the internet.

Whether you'd like to be an author, developer, whatever, I'd like your help.

I plan for this site to not only be used for tutorials and guides, but to be a donation front to help support Ubuntu and its related projects. I would like to (hopefully) design software to help new users get accustomed to Ubuntu. I'd also (someday) like to release the guide in book form, with all proceeds going to support Ubuntu and its related projects.

As you can see, I've got high hopes for this project. While we may not fully accomplish all of these goals, those that we do will be quite worthwhile.

If you're interested at all, please feel free to send me an email:

admin(at)ubuntuexperiment.org or ubuntu(at)gridrunners.com

(Obviously, replace the (at) with @.)

Or, you can send me a PM here if you'd like.

If you want to see the current state of the old and new site, here are the links:

http://ubuntu.gridrunners.com - the old site
http://www.ubuntuexperiment.org - the new site (under construction)

Hope to hear from you guys (and gals) soon!

[the.dark.lord]

Count me in, I can do a bit of writing.

[Ebuntor]

Seems like an interesting project and I'd like to help. I send you an email. :)

[SoulinEther]

Well, the forum aggregator may need some time.


Perhaps I'm in.

I already had plans of releasing something private... this will give me a good portal (heh, an ICE PORTAL!) to share this private stuff.

[iceportal]

I got your email, Ebuntor.

the.dark.lord, please shoot me an email soon as you can.

[Palmyra]

Iceportal, do you mind if I hijack your thread? :)

On the same note, I too am looking for people to join my website. I realize it seems strange that we (iceportal, aysiu, ubuntu-guide, me) are not all working on the same website, but there are fundamental differences that set us all apart.

My difference is that I am, in no uncertain terms, anti-command line, and I will not feature any guides that use the command line at all. My website is also not geared towards advanced users, and is heavily designed for newbies with the assumption that the newbie is not somewhat of a newbie, but a complete newbie (in other words, a n00b). I also believe in "the less you know, the better."

If anyone here is interested in joining me, let me know! Feel free to drop me a PM.

[iceportal]

Palmyra - I don't mind you borrowing my thread, but it might be nice to have your own.

Also... If you wanted to submit articles to my site, I'd be happy to help you with yours where appropriate, despite our differences in focus, so long as we keep compatible licenses between the sites.

[Alterax]

I like the idea of both of your projects: Great for new people. But the one question I do have is why the anti-command line stance? Newbies are already afraid of alien CLIs; bringing these in (in moderation, when necessary) demystifies the process for the newbie and gently helps get rid of the apprehension to using what is a very powerful tool.

My mate forced (yes. Forced.) me to learn Unix commands when I first started with Linux. I despised it at first, but after a couple of weeks I learned a LOT about the OS. It also made me a lot more comfortable with using Linux because I had a much better understanding of what was going on under the hood.

I'm not saying to shove the CLI down their throats; but don't hide it if it's the quickest and easiest way. Maybe show how to do one thing using the GUI (install and configure a package), then how to do it with the CLI.

--Alterax

[Palmyra]

Also... If you wanted to submit articles to my site, I'd be happy to help you with yours where appropriate, despite our differences in focus, so long as we keep compatible licenses between the sites.

What license have you chosen?


But the one question I do have is why the anti-command line stance? Newbies are already afraid of alien CLIs; bringing these in (in moderation, when necessary) demystifies the process for the newbie and gently helps get rid of the apprehension to using what is a very powerful tool.

I understand where you are coming from, but I have a radically different vision of where Linux could be in the future, and this vision would require forcing people to abandon the command line. There is no other way to dump the command line than to deny its existence to beginners.

I wholeheartedly agree that the command line can be useful at times, but it is more unuseful than it is useful. GUI, at least in my view, outperforms the command line in most cases. The command line is better at getting things done quicker, and with less hassle, but the burden of remembering commands (a problem I frequently have) is a pain. Having to look up commands on Google is a pain too, whereas with GUI, the clicks don't leave your memory as easily as with the command line.
I don't think many people share my views.

[az]

The basic goal would be to explain things in a simple and straightforward way that the target audience could easily and quickly learn, in the hopes that their experiences with Ubuntu would be pleasurable as opposed to difficult. The idea was to introduce them to the Ubuntu OS step-by-step, with minimal command-line usage.
...

I plan for this site to not only be used for tutorials and guides, but to be a donation front to help support Ubuntu and its related projects.

Why not just help out the official documentation? (help.ubuntu.com and help.ubuntu.com/community) Anyone can contribute. The docteam don't bite. Why a third-party project? Wouldn't more and better documentation in one place be better that fragments all over the place?

[Ebuntor]

I like the idea of both of your projects: Great for new people. But the one question I do have is why the anti-command line stance?

I'm not saying to shove the CLI down their throats; but don't hide it if it's the quickest and easiest way. Maybe show how to do one thing using the GUI (install and configure a package), then how to do it with the CLI.


That's the idea. Since Windows users a so GUI dependent our tutorials have to focus on the GUI way. We will be adding CLI alternatives, maybe as a short step-by-step guide. Although we haven't really decided yet (I think).


What license have you chosen?

We're not sure yet. I suggested using the GFDL (GNU Free Documentation License (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Free_Documentation_License)) but we don't think that License is appropriate in this case.


Why not just help out the official documentation? (help.ubuntu.com and help.ubuntu.com/community) Anyone can contribute. The docteam don't bite. Why a third-party project? Wouldn't more and better documentation in one place be better that fragments all over the place?

We're actually following the idea and philosophy behind the Free Software/Open Source/GNU movement. We're making walkthroughs in our own style, in such a way Windows (and Mac) users will benefit most. It's aimed at people who are complete newbies to Linux.

The other documentation teams do excellent work, of course. But that doesn't mean we have to join them.

It certainly won't be a collection of "fragments". We're aiming at writing a complete guide for all the standard and popular (K/X)Ubuntu apps. If we'll just end up with a few guides it won't even be worth to start the project. in the first place.

[az]

We're not sure yet. I suggested using the GFDL (GNU Free Documentation License (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Free_Documentation_License)) but we don't think that License is appropriate in this case.

The GFDL has it's problems. Creative commons SA-BY is the most gpl-like in terms of protecting the freedom of the work.




We're actually following the idea and philosophy behind the Free Software/Open Source/GNU movement. We're making walkthroughs in our own style, in such a way Windows (and Mac) users will benefit most. It's aimed at people who are complete newbies to Linux.

I'm not saying that you are not following a good ideal, I'm just asking if you considered helping the present doc team produce something aimed at complete beginners?




The other documentation teams do excellent work, of course. But that doesn't mean we have to join them.


Fair enough. But what I am asking is whether there is a reason for that or you just want to be seperate for the sake of being seperate?



It certainly won't be a collection of "fragments". We're aiming at writing a complete guide for all the standard and popular (K/X)Ubuntu apps. If we'll just end up with a few guides it won't even be worth to start the project. in the first place.

What I was saying applied to the different projects, rather than the content. If you want Ubuntu documentation, you have a fair number of third-party sites as well as the official site. If all that documentation was in one place, it would be less fragmented and therefore more useful.

[Ebuntor]

The GFDL has it's problems. Creative commons SA-BY is the most gpl-like in terms of protecting the freedom of the work.


Sounds good, I'll take a look at it. Thanks.



I'm not saying that you are not following a good ideal, I'm just asking if you considered helping the present doc team produce something aimed at complete beginners?

Fair enough. But what I am asking is whether there is a reason for that or you just want to be seperate for the sake of being seperate?

What I was saying applied to the different projects, rather than the content. If you want Ubuntu documentation, you have a fair number of third-party sites as well as the official site. If all that documentation was in one place, it would be less fragmented and therefore more useful.

Sorry I was in a bit of a hurry I wasn't clear at all.
What I meant by following that philosophy is that just like what all the different Linux disto's we want to give it our own spin.

Yeah I (can't speak for the other project members) have considered joining another team. Of course we could provide them with our guides, that would benefit everyone.

The whole point behind being separate is that we aren't just another doc team. All our guides won't just end up on a website, we want to make whole book out of it, maybe an ebook, for Gutsy +1. Having a small dedicated team for a book does have it advantages. For example all our guides can be the same style.

Since it has to be in book for, which is quite different from a wiki and has to be checked carefully, we can't possibly work for the other doc teams.

[az]

Yeah I (can't speak for the other project members) have considered joining another team. Of course we could provide them with our guides, that would benefit everyone.

The whole point behind being separate is that we aren't just another doc team. All our guides won't just end up on a website, we want to make whole book out of it, maybe an ebook, for Gutsy +1. Having a small dedicated team for a book does have it advantages. For example all our guides can be the same style.


That's a good answer.

With respect to making it into a book or ebook, I would suggest that you stay away from the CC non-commercial clause, since such a restriction would probably be problematic. The help.ubuntu.com site uses CC SA-BY without NC for that reason. People are welcome to publish books which contain that material!



Since it has to be in book for, which is quite different from a wiki and has to be checked carefully, we can't possibly work for the other doc teams.

I dissagree with that. I think the minor adjustments you would need to make to keep in your style is a lot less work in comparison with all the help you can harness from the existing members and contributers to the official Ubuntu docs.

..Not that I want to tell you what to do. It's your project and I wish you all best of luck. ...just my opinion.