[pmwiki-users] Does this list inhibit development of good documentation?

Francis Casson pmwiki at bleaksky.net
Tue Mar 6 03:58:09 CST 2007


On 06/03/07, Kathryn Andersen <kat_lists at katspace.homelinux.org> wrote:
>
> What is *wrong* with it?  Are the Beginner topics too advanced?
> Conversely, is there a lack of "advanced" topics?
> Or is it that it is more of a reference than a tutorial?
>
>
For me, I was able to learn most basic stuff that I needed from the
Documentation Index, with a little effort.
More advanced topics such as eexplanations of the PmWiki code would be
useful though.

When I started this thread, I was more referring to the
Cookbookdocumentation than the core documentation - which I see as
more of a
problem, precisely because it is less complete and less well organised.

On 06/03/07, Simon <s-i-m-o-n at paradise.net.nz> wrote:

    I think the short answer is yes.

    It is tooo easy for a quick question to be flicked off,
    instead of ''reading the documentation''.

    Thinking about what you want and reading documentation is hard,
    getting someone else to think for you is easy.

So, its up to you
- use PmWiki more,
- use the mailing list less
- write and refactor


I would contend that most people at least look at the documentation first,
because of the embarrassment factor of asking a stupid question.  But often
they don't understand what is there because it is at too high a level, or is
not organised very well - and then have to resort to the mailing list.
Having looked at the documentation they then know where they would have
liked to have found the answer and can then add it.

I wasn't advocating doing away with this list, but encouraging those that
get answers here to write them up for the documentation - a way of giving
something back.  This should be a more explicit ethic for the mailing list -
it is harder to ignore such an obligation if it is explicit and promoted -
perhaps both on the mailing list description page and the list itself

Francis
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