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Open Source Writers Group
dria writes "The Open Source Writers Group (OSWG) is a project started to help writers find OS projects for which they can volunteer, and to help OS projects find the writers they need.
Writers and editors who are willing and able to volunteer their efforts similarly find it difficult to identify OS projects that need them. This indicates a communications gap that must be addressed.
The OSWG project has been created to help fill that gap.
" I think we all realize that the Open Source world needs more of this-we've got a some rough edges, and people like this are needed.
In all seriousness, though, I think that every project in this community needs to consider what kind of documentation they need to write. I'm sure you've noticed a stark difference in the documentation of Windows and Linux programs. This is because the Windows community seems to have collectively decided that the geeks can fend for themselves; they're writing for the people who fear that clicking any button causes an irrevocable change in the computer that will mess it up.
Unfortunately, the Linux community seems to have collectively decided to write for the people who know very well how to work a computer, and want to know how to do the real juicy shtuff faster and better. The Linux Documentation Project is full of examples of these. Mind you, many of the HOWTOs on there are great, and easy for me to understand with minimal Linux experience -- but I've been comfortable with a computer since I was four years old, and I have no problem placing ideas of real objects with the abstract terms. I have a feeling that there are many people whom would be confused by even the most basic of HOWTOs (humourous ones excepted :) ), let alone the trickier ones.
Browsing through the list of writers who have applied for the job, it doesn't seem like this project is making any attempt to fix this problem. For their biographies, they note things like degrees, almost any technical experience, and listings of programs they're familiar with. Unfortunately, none of them speak of their ability to communicate simply and easily with the computer illiterate.
Advanced documentation is great. Otherwise, nobody would get sendmail configured. However, if we want people to consider free operating systems, we don't need to dumb them down -- we need to make our documentation "user-friendly." I would much prefer to see a real attempt to address larger problems than provide another means to ease communication between geeks who want to write for geeks.
Browsing through the list of writers who have applied for the job, it doesn't seem like this project is making any attempt to fix this problem. For their biographies, they note things like degrees, almost any technical experience, and listings of programs they're familiar with. Unfortunately, none of them speak of their ability to communicate simply and easily with the computer illiterate.
One of the main skills most technical writers must first develop is the ability to write clear, concise, user-oriented documentation (in the software industry, at least). I think perhaps none of us have put this in our mini-bios on the OSWG site because for us (experienced tech writers) this sort of thing almost "goes without saying". It is a valid point, of course, and I'll bring it up on the list to see if any of the writers/editors wants to add this sort of information to their bio.
- deb