Subject:
Re: Removing the Kernel HOWTO for review
From:
Tabatha Marshall ####@####.####
Date:
12 Nov 2003 21:18:36 -0000
Message-Id: <1068671887.18175.98.camel@mysticchild>
On Wed, 2003-11-12 at 12:45, Milkyway Galaxy wrote:
> --- John Levon ####@####.#### wrote:
> > On Wed, Nov 12, 2003 at 10:41:06AM -0800, Milkyway
> > Galaxy wrote:
> >
> > > Who is this John Levon? How is he related to LDP??
> >
> > I'm an independent reviewer concerned about the
> > quality of many of the
> > HOWTOs, along with many other people.
> Who appointed you? Are you just a volunteer?
> What is your contribution to LDP? How many
> documents/guides/HOWTOs did you write?
> What is your contribution to Linux?
> How much linux code did you write?
> Send me the urls on the docs you wrote.
> What is your background?
> What is your education level? Do you have computer
> science degree?
Al Dev, none of the above are required to become a volunteer.
> Hey John Levon :
> Where were you all these days. The howto document
> already made version 7.3. How come I did not hear from
> you a year ago about suggestions/improvements?
Many people assumed you were a member of the discussion list until we
recently found out otherwise. You could then have received all this
feedback directly, which is part of the reason we recommend this to
authors. Everything should be in the LDP's message archive online.
> > I only covered a few issues, instead of a detailed
> > coverage, because my
> > aim is primarily to have these HOWTOs taken off for
> > review. If you read
> > the recent mail archives, you'll find some
> > discussion on this point.
> >
> Who are you to order that documents be taken off?
> If you are volunteer, your job is to send me
> suggestions as millions do around the globe. Simply
> email me the additions/changes to the howto and I will
> work on it during week-end.
> You just walked in and are saying remove this doc,
> remove that doc etc..
> Problem is there will be hundred guys like from SCO
> corporations and stock brokers from NYSE and others
> who will just walk in and tell LDP to remove the good
> documents!! There are whole bunch of stupid guys out
> there!!
This isn't a decision made by one person, Al Dev, as I've stated
before. This is something that is decided when an overwhelming majority
of people have advised us of issues with a document. We then have a
look, and if the LDP staff is in agreement, the document is pulled for
further review. This has always been the policy.
Like it says in the manifesto (http://www.tldp.org/manifesto.html):
"When we disagree on things, we try to reason with each other until we
reach an informed consensus."
I'm not sure why you're bringing an entity like SCO into the picture...
> As you are volunteer, your job is only to send me
> emails criticisms, suggestions and improvements. I
> will take those discuss with others and make changes.
That's exactly what John did.
> > Please read the archive for examples of
> > dis-satisfied users. Besides,
> > the existence of lots of readers has no real bearing
> > on the quality of
> > the work (Schildt proves this point rather well).
>
> But there are million others who had said that the
> document is excellent and it solved there problems!!
> What do you say about this?
Al Dev, we can't possibly know who these people are, or what they gained
from your work. We can only address those that come to the LDP with
their comments, not those who have told you directly. But if they've
complimented your work, you should be looking at what was most vs. what
was least helpful to them, and using that information along with the
feedback from the discussion list (even negative), improve your
documentation accordingly.
> Send me list - noting inaccurate, poorly written
> prose.
> You have to deal with people with different skill
> levels.
This is why I've offered to help you.
> Who are you to decide the reputation of LDP.
> LDP is completely open and democratic. You need to
> satisfy thousand million guys (from India, China,
> Japan, Europe, Middle East etc..)
You make it sound as though John has spoken for all of LDP, but in fact
this is not the case. You asked for direct comments and suggestions
regarding your work, and John, hoping to be of help to you, has tried to
provide you with some areas where he feels your documents need work.
You have a number of documents, and none of them went through an initial
review. Reviewing your work was going to happen anyway (finding
reviewers for such a purpose is always an ongoing thing), since we don't
only review new documentation, but also existing work, for the same
level of quality.
I hope this information helps.
Tab
--
Tabatha Marshall
Web: www.merlinmonroe.com
Linux Documentation Project Review Coordinator (http://www.tldp.org)
Linux Counter Area Manager US:wa (http://counter.li.org)
