discuss: Thread: Manifesto, Overview section

Here's the Overview secton of 2000 draft Manifesto for review,
including my comments and rewrite.  Please comment.
------------------------2000--draft--------------------------------------
1. OVERVIEW

   The goal of the Linux Documentation Project is to create and
   distribute the canonical set of free GNU/Linux documentation.
   
   An additional goal is to collaborate on all of the issues of GNU/Linux
   documentation. We hope to establish a system of documentation that is
   easy to use and search. This includes the integration of all available
   documents.
   
   We frequently update documentation -- online and downloadable -- in
   order to stay on top of the many changes in the GNU/Linux world. Also
   we like to see the same documents distributed in other formats such as
   books and CD-ROMs. If you are interested in publishing any of the LDP
   works, see the section "[6]Publishing LDP Documents" below.
   
   The LDP is a loose team of [7]volunteers with a minimal central
   organization. Anyone who would like to help is welcome to join in this
   effort. We feel that working together informally and discussing
   projects on our mailing lists is the best way to go. When we disagree
   on things, we try to reason with each other until we reach an informed
   consensus.
-----------------------start--of--comments----------------------------
Here are my comments: (2000 draft is quoted with >)
>1. OVERVIEW
>
>   The goal of the Linux Documentation Project is to create and
>   distribute the canonical set of free GNU/Linux documentation.

Nice goal, but what does it mean?  Since applications usually have
their own documentation, we don't duplicate this.  But sometimes we do
if the documentation can be improved on such as tutorial
documentation for beginners or advanced "tricks" that were not
mentioned.

>   
>   An additional goal is to collaborate on all of the issues of GNU/Linux
>   documentation. We hope to establish a system of documentation that is
>   easy to use and search. This includes the integration of all available
>   documents.

We are not presently working on this (but should be).  What we are
actually doing at present is distributing documentation written by
volunteers, etc.  So what we are actually doing now somehow needs to be
mentioned too.
>   
>   We frequently update documentation -- online and downloadable --
>   in order to stay on top of the many changes in the GNU/Linux
>   world. Also we like to see the same documents distributed in other
>   formats such as books and CD-ROMs. If you are interested in
>   publishing any of the LDP works, see the section "[6]Publishing
>   LDP Documents" below.

A major complaint about LDP is that our docs are out-of-date.  Thus
it seems like hype to say that we "frequently update ...".  Sometimes
we do but all too often we don't.  Since documentation gets obsolete
so fast, I think that we should have the following priorities:

First: On-line documentation which can either be read on-line or
downloaded

Second: CD-ROM.  They become obsolete fast but they are cheap.  The
primary way this happens is via the major Linux distributions.

Third: Print.  A printed copy is nice to look at while relaxing,
traveling, etc.  But people could print up what they want to read on
their own printers.  There's the ecological issue of saving trees by
not printing too much.

What we say here should somehow reflect these priorities (but not in
the detail presented above).   

>   The LDP is a loose team of volunteers with a minimal central
>   organization. Anyone who would like to help is welcome to join in this
>   effort. We feel that working together informally and discussing
>   projects on our mailing lists is the best way to go. When we disagree
>   on things, we try to reason with each other until we reach an informed
>   consensus.

OK.  But the other manifesto says "The LDP is *essentially* a loose
team ..."   I think this is better since we do have a leader, etc.
We have a core group and are not entirely "loose".  So I would retain
"essentially" (or one could use "mainly" or "primarily").

----------------------end--of--my--comments--------------------------
----------------------what--I--would--say---------------------------
1. OVERVIEW

The goal of the Linux Documentation Project (LDP) is to create and
distribute the canonical set of free GNU/Linux documentation.  While
GNU/Linux applications and utilities may come with their own
documentation, LDP documentation fills in the numerous gaps.

The hundreds of existing LDP documents present both overviews and
details of: the GNU/Linux Operating System, System Administration,
Hardware, Networks, Servers, GUIs, Programming, Language Support, etc.
In spite of the large number of documents, much more remains to be
done and many areas are not adequately covered.

An additional goal is to collaborate on all of the issues of GNU/Linux
documentation. We hope to establish a system of documentation that is
easy to use and search. This includes the integration of all available
documents.

We freely distribute our documents via the Internet.  Most major
distributions of Linux include them on CDs.  Some publishers print
them in books but the online ones are more likely to be current.  If
you are interested in publishing any of the LDP works, see the section
"Publishing LDP Documents" below.

The LDP is essentially a loose team of volunteers with a minimal
central organization. Anyone who would like to help is welcome to join
in this effort.  We feel that working together informally and
discussing projects on our mailing lists is the best way to go.  When
we disagree on things, we try to reason with each other until we reach
an informed consensus.