Subject:
Re: New Reviewers!
From:
Tabatha Marshall ####@####.####
Date:
4 Dec 2003 01:43:33 -0000
Message-Id: <1070502184.11176.41.camel@mysticchild>
On Sat, 2003-11-29 at 09:38, Stein Gjoen wrote:
> Tabatha Marshall wrote:
> > If you want, I can send you the email I sent to the list, if you'd like
> > details.
>
>
> Yes please, that would be interesting. I have tried some recruiting
> around here in local Linux fora but have to admit no results at all.
> A writeup of "Why Joining TLDP" could be useful in a wider settings.
>
> Slashdot, it seems, was not good for recruiting though we got some
> feedback and, perhaps, better profiling in the longer term. There is
> a topic there called Slashback, for followups to earlier postings.
> We might use that to show how we acted on the feedback.
Here's what I wrote (bearing in mind this was geared toward a writer's
list I'm subscribed to):
Hi all,
I have lurked and occasionally posted here, and always find this list to
be extremely informative, so before I say anything let me first say
thank you!
I've been volunteering for almost 2 years now with a technical
documentation project, hosted online. The work published on the site is
about the Linux operating system, and is mostly technical in nature,
using certain documentation formats that not everyone is familiar with,
but which port to many other readable formats. Reviewers don't need to
be familiar with the tools - they can concentrate strictly on editing if
that's all they're bringing to the table. I suppose an interest in
computers would go a long way though.
The documentation effort is known as The Linux Documentation Project
(TLDP). After almost a year of reviewing technical documentation I took
on the role of Review Coordinator, which, among other things, involves
seeking out others who may be interested in doing this type of work, and
I've been coordinating for a year now.
There is no pay involved. The volunteer editors/reviewers are
subscribed to a mailing list, and when I receive new work, I post it
there to see if anyone will perform a language review, since we have as
many ESL authors as we do those speaking English as their primary
language.
I wanted to pass this information on, in case anyone here is interested
in doing volunteer review work. I am always looking for people not only
willing to review new documents coming in, but those already existing in
the collection; we are trying to bring all our documents up to a certain
standard as we celebrate our tenth anniversary this year.
I have found that reviewing the work of others, regardless of the
content, is a great way to keep my editing skills sharp, and this does
seem to show in my fiction (I recently completed editing my first
manuscript and am now working on my second book).
The LDP website is www.tldp.org, and if any of you would like to learn
more about volunteering your time as a reviewer, please let me know
directly. For a quick overview of the LDP, you can read the FAQ:
http://www.tldp.org/FAQ/LDP-FAQ/. There is also a Reviewer's HOWTO:
http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/LDP-Reviewer-HOWTO/, for further details.
If anyone considers this inappropriate or a waste of time, I apologize
in advance. I only offer it as a way for others to work on their
editing skills in an informal, friendly environment.
Cheers!
***
This was sent from a particular angle, as you can see, so I don't know
how adaptable it is. But feel free to use what you can!
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)
