[documentation] [Documentation feature] Proposal: How to get more people involved with documentation

[Gary Feldman]

Laura Scott wrote:

 > What about just giving book edit permissions to a broad range of
 > people who have expressed interest and initiative in helping in
 > documentation? I don't see why it need be all or nothing, when
 > it's really just a few dozen of us who are trying to make changes,
 > even sporadically.

I've just joined this list, having been attracted by this thread among 
other things.  And if I might chime in as a newcomer, I quite agree with 
Laura here.

Given the magnitude of the work, I think a review process isn't going to 
succeed, at least not as a volunteer effort.  There's just too much to 
write and fix, and not enough time to review things.

I've been contributing to the documentation at the CruiseControl.Net 
site.  It's a wiki-style site, but you not only have to register, but 
your registration has to be approved (or at least it did when I 
joined).  This is enough to prevent spam.  The advantage of this 
approach is that contributions show up immediately, while anyone else 
who wants to proofread or edit can do so, with the fixes also 
immediate.  The revision history protects against mistakes.  Granted, 
it's a much smaller team, user base, and product, but it seems to work 
well.  When an issue appears on the user mailing list, I'll frequently 
fix the documentation right away, whether it's an error, confusing 
writing, or missing information.  I wouldn't do that at all if it 
weren't so easy.

In other words, the easier it is to do it, the more likely it will get done.

Gary