Hi,
I have tried to collect the ideas that were raised in this group and I have added some of my own. The result is a coarse outline of a proposal that I have for the Blender Documentation. Please have a read on http://vrotvrot.com/BlenderDoc/ and share what you think.
Hopefully we can use this as a guideline and work on it until we all agree.
Have fun,
B@rt
A proposal..
Moderators: jesterKing, stiv
1. Developing Blender.
2. Using Blender.
3. Documenting Blender.
4. Teaching blender
In another thread in blender.org, a group of people was talking and i was subscribed once to a project in blender.nl, about creating material suitable for a classroom. A chapter in a book is great but maybe not organized for teaching/showcase.
Im sorry if i dont make sense , my english
, any doubt dont hesitate to ask.
2. Using Blender.
3. Documenting Blender.
4. Teaching blender
In another thread in blender.org, a group of people was talking and i was subscribed once to a project in blender.nl, about creating material suitable for a classroom. A chapter in a book is great but maybe not organized for teaching/showcase.
Im sorry if i dont make sense , my english
, any doubt dont hesitate to ask.
me againjust thinking that the document only contemplates documents. but in my opinion.
1. I have been able to learn a LOT from other people blend and games.
2. Videos: Training, extra chapters, lessons, exercises ?
3. Add a tutorial feature to blender (i dont know now but i remember a long time ago i used truespace 2 and you could do something like play tutorial files inside the application).
4. 3d help system (? huh dont ask me
)*edit : maybe just listen to the video part, No. 2 and 3.
Last edited by jeotero on Sat Oct 26, 2002 5:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Hi jeotero,
1) I think that we will definately implement a feedback system like on php.net (didn't I mention that somewhere?). The comments there can be used by the authors to improve their submissions.
2) About CVS access: you typically don't want to give everyone write access to the CVS tree. What I see for the short term is that the document board receives contributions, reviews them and adds them to the CVS tree. You should also be able to download the original files as a zip file or tarball without needing (anonymous) access to the CVS server. So artists, or anyone who does not have CVS access or does not understand how to use it have a very easy way to contribute.
Would that solve your worries?
B@rt
I have two things to say to that:CVS I think is a limitation for non technical people.
You want artist as contributors to the docs.
Some people may not be able to add to the docs so easily.
php.net manual is more powerful in my opinion a living document, instead of end user releases.
1) I think that we will definately implement a feedback system like on php.net (didn't I mention that somewhere?). The comments there can be used by the authors to improve their submissions.
2) About CVS access: you typically don't want to give everyone write access to the CVS tree. What I see for the short term is that the document board receives contributions, reviews them and adds them to the CVS tree. You should also be able to download the original files as a zip file or tarball without needing (anonymous) access to the CVS server. So artists, or anyone who does not have CVS access or does not understand how to use it have a very easy way to contribute.
Would that solve your worries?
B@rt
Last edited by B@rt on Sat Oct 26, 2002 5:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
A very valuable idea, but maybe we should not include that in the scope of the documentation project at this stage? Let's get this documentation thing working first (which I'm sure will be much more work than we realize now), and then worry about the next step!jeotero wrote:
just thinking that the document only contemplates documents. but in my opinion.
1. I have been able to learn a LOT from other people blend and games.
2. Videos: Training, extra chapters, lessons, exercises ?
3. Add a tutorial feature to blender (i dont know now but i remember a long time ago i used truespace 2 and you could do something like play tutorial files inside the application).
4. 3d help system (? huh dont ask me
*edit : maybe just listen to the video part, No. 2 and 3.
B@rt
Looks nice to me.
on another part, translation, thats a tricky subject. I think it depends totally on the translators if they want to wait for a complete english release or work alongside it.
maybe a use a linux kernel development strategy. Do a a new features freeze on finished chapters/tutorials/docs, so the translators can work on them. If there is any small correction it could be easy to amend, if you completely remove chapters/docs/etc you would have people quitting on the job.
Just my .2 cents.
on another part, translation, thats a tricky subject. I think it depends totally on the translators if they want to wait for a complete english release or work alongside it.
maybe a use a linux kernel development strategy. Do a a new features freeze on finished chapters/tutorials/docs, so the translators can work on them. If there is any small correction it could be easy to amend, if you completely remove chapters/docs/etc you would have people quitting on the job.
Just my .2 cents.
I have updated the document with a process flowchart that describes the CVS, Documentation Board, Authors and users. Please let me know what you think of it. You can also see the chart directly on http://vrotvrot.com/BlenderDoc/Process.png
Cheers,
B@rt
PS: Jeotero, please try to combine your reactions into one post - you're kind of cluttering the topic now
Cheers,
B@rt
PS: Jeotero, please try to combine your reactions into one post - you're kind of cluttering the topic now
Well, firstly, i think that the main task of Blender Documentation Work Group would be translation tasks, especially in Spanish, as Gimp and OpenOffice have already done. Note that i am speaking about Documentation Translation.
First Goal:
Appropriate licenses
Second goal:
Translation of the Blender Guide Reference Section to the most important languages of the world. Also a complete Glossary of terms. Note that we need, in that case, the file font of Blender Guide 2.0 REFERENCE SECTION
Third Goal:
Translation of Blender Guide 2.0 and Blender Guide of Game Engine to the most important languages of the world.
Fourth goal:
Well, i'm working now as a teacher in computer private academy. If i had material to make a course, i will do a proposal to the boss, sure...but with Official Degrees and Titles...and Task Agenda...etc...in spanish, of course.
First Goal:
Appropriate licenses
Second goal:
Translation of the Blender Guide Reference Section to the most important languages of the world. Also a complete Glossary of terms. Note that we need, in that case, the file font of Blender Guide 2.0 REFERENCE SECTION
Third Goal:
Translation of Blender Guide 2.0 and Blender Guide of Game Engine to the most important languages of the world.
Fourth goal:
Well, i'm working now as a teacher in computer private academy. If i had material to make a course, i will do a proposal to the boss, sure...but with Official Degrees and Titles...and Task Agenda...etc...in spanish, of course.
Hi Alvero,
but before you can translate anything you would need to have something TO translate, right? At this moment we don't have a complete open sourced manual yet - only snippets of information. We don't have a complete reference for example. (Bear in mind that the 2.0 Guide is NOT open sourced!).
Therefore I think we should define as our primary goal to design and produce a good set of documentation in English under an acceptable license. Once that is in place, we can start working on translation projects. I fear that if we start translating before we have a solid foundation, that the whole project will split off into separate projects - one separate manual for each language.
Does that make sense?
B@rt
but before you can translate anything you would need to have something TO translate, right? At this moment we don't have a complete open sourced manual yet - only snippets of information. We don't have a complete reference for example. (Bear in mind that the 2.0 Guide is NOT open sourced!).
Therefore I think we should define as our primary goal to design and produce a good set of documentation in English under an acceptable license. Once that is in place, we can start working on translation projects. I fear that if we start translating before we have a solid foundation, that the whole project will split off into separate projects - one separate manual for each language.
Does that make sense?
B@rt
Hi B@rt!
Thanks a lot for providing the "proposal platform"!
Do you accept diff's?
Btw., the correct spelling is Alvaro (2 x 'a'), not "Alvero".
Another question (may sound silly after providing so much information about it): what tools do you use to convert DocBook? It looks quite different from what I tend to get from the stylesheets provided at http://sourceforge.net/projects/docbook/ .
Puh, starting to be complicated.
I'll send you a few corrections shortly (including my nickname's spelling and tons of links).
Thanks!
Thanks a lot for providing the "proposal platform"!
Do you accept diff's?
Exactly my words!B@rt wrote:but before you can translate anything you would need to have something TO translate, right?
Btw., the correct spelling is Alvaro (2 x 'a'), not "Alvero".Do you have the "source code" to that? Or if you have GIMP and/or netpbm, I can send you possible changes as an easily-visible extra layer in XCF (or raw data and a short script for netpbm).B@rt wrote:http://vrotvrot.com/BlenderDoc/Process.png
Another question (may sound silly after providing so much information about it): what tools do you use to convert DocBook? It looks quite different from what I tend to get from the stylesheets provided at http://sourceforge.net/projects/docbook/ .
Puh, starting to be complicated.
I'll send you a few corrections shortly (including my nickname's spelling and tons of links).Thanks!
Felix