[documentation] handbook reorg

[Bill Fitzgerald]

Laura's ideas build nicely on Stephen's initial suggestions. In order to 
minimize the time required to implement this, I suggest we start with 
the version specific handbooks with 4.7 -- ie, take the opportunity 
presented by the 4.7 release to cull any obsolete posts from the 
existing handbook. While it would be nice to eventually get a 4.6 
version, I think 4.7 should be the priority.

Also, a big +1 to the "Using Drupal" section. In addition to full-on 
site recipes, include smaller descriptions: how to create forums; how 
taxonomy, content types, and user roles can create structure on a site, 
etc -- I see the usage section being the biggest gap in the existing 
documentation in that many users new to Drupal often don't know what to 
do once they have installed the software.

Cheers,

Bill

-- 
Bill Fitzgerald
http://www.funnymonkey.com
Tools for Teachers
503.897.7160


Laura Scott wrote:

> +1 for the structure Steven suggests.
>
> I suggest adding a *Usage* area for the recipes, how-tos and module 
> tips and tricks -- a place for all the "how do I...." questions that 
> end up on the forum. This is not installation, and this is not 
> customization, it's just how to use the software itself, which has a 
> pretty steep learning curve, let's face it.
>
> Also, I would really like to suggest creating *one handbook for each 
> Drupal release*. Simple tagging helps over what we had before, but 
> really I think it would be good to take what we have, make it a Drupal 
> 4.6 handbook, *copy* it to create a 4.7 handbook, and rewrite that one 
> as needed. Pages needing rewrite could be flagged for attention.
>
> The place for the wiki might be the CVS handbook, where everything 
> would be shifting on a daily basis.
>
> Let's face it, the development crew are working like gangbusters and 
> really improving Drupal to the point that it's almost a new CMS with 
> each release. If we treat the releases distinctly with distinct 
> handbooks, there would be a lot less confusion. As time goes on, we 
> keep the most-recent 2-3 releases "live" in the handbooks, and we can 
> archive the older ones for download (as those releases are not likely 
> to change at all, barring a suddenly discovered security breach).
>
> This way we aren't trying to constantly write one-page-fits-all 
> content or mixing up 4.6, 4.7 and CVS pages into one jumbled mass.
>
> What do you think?
>
> Laura

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