MacPorts guide & Wiki

[Boey Maun Suang]

Hi Juan (and everyone else),

Sorry for the delay in replying, and the low comment-to-quotation  
ratio; I thought I'd best leave the original context in.

> 	One other topic is how we should integrate that source of  
> information with the Wiki, and on this I hope to not tread too  
> harshly on what's already been discussed many times before, of  
> which I don't have much track at all to be honest (and I apologize  
> to people involved for that!). In any case, Wiki docs being as  
> dynamic as they are, I was mainly thinking we should use the Wiki  
> solely for "How-To" type of documents, like how to setup a mail  
> server with MacPorts installed software and edit it as new  
> information and packages become available. On the other hand,  
> existing wiki documentation on the basics of how to use MacPorts,  
> how to become a member, how to properly submit tickets, Portfile  
> writing guidelines and the like should be moved to the guide if not  
> already there, officially and emphatically endorsed by the project  
> (not that the wiki isn't endorsed, but the guide seems to me like  
> more formal). Thoughts?

I think that that was the consensus approached in a previous  
discussion on the mailing list (though I haven't found it yet), and  
in any case it seems the most reasonable breakdown to me.

> 	On the contribution topic, there are those with commit bit already  
> (who should feel free to dive in and and work on the official docs,  
> I'm sure peer review will help stabilize things) and those who  
> don't have +commit but still might want to contribute. I see many,  
> many solutions to the latter, so many in fact that I fear this  
> thread getting lost in endless discussion on how to channel it, as  
> it's happened before. I'll start by proposing the following: I  
> create a "Documentation" milestone up in the roadmap, where users  
> can upload either patches and/or comments on the docs (in case they  
> don't know how to create patches) and committers review and apply  
> them as appropriate; those contributors without +commit and with a  
> good record get promoted to project membership. On the wiki side of  
> things, I'll fulfill one of my promises and coordinate with kvv an  
> easier way of granting wiki write privileges to a selected subset  
> of people whom we approve to write wiki documentation, so that "how- 
> to" documents are also fluently created and maintained.

That all sounds pretty reasonable to me, and again, I think that that  
was what had been previously suggested.

> 	Again, I'm really fearing loosing this thread to endless debate  
> once again, so I'll go ahead and start with the outlined plan  
> unless someone proves me that it is fundamentally flawed because of  
> <insert your best possible argument here>. If it happens to fall  
> short of ideal, we can always improve it as we move along, but I'm  
> sure we would all appreciate at least *some* forward progress on  
> the sorry state of our documentation over nothing at all.

Well, it looks like you've started the fire, so we just need to keep  
fanning the flames!

Kind regards,


Maun Suang

-- 
Boey Maun Suang (Boey is my surname)
Email: boeyms at macports dot org