Getting Involved in the Jokosher Documentation Team
Great software isn't much good without great documentation. Jokosher aims to push the boundaries and find better ways to do things. It's documentation should reflect the same spirit.
What skills do we need on the team?
Wiki editing - many of our documents can be edited on the Wiki. If you know Wiki markup, you can help. Your understanding of Wiki markup doesn't have to be perfect. We'll help you along.
DocBook/XML editing - most documentation distributed with Jokosher will be moving to DocBook format. Help is needed to convert the existing documentation and maintain it once conversion is complete
HTML editing - currently the master copy of the Jokosher User Guide (UserGuideEn02) is in HTML. Although we are moving away from HTML as a master format, some HTML documents may still exist and need maintenance for a while. DocBook markup is different than HTML, but a solid HTML backgound is helpful.
Testing - Docs need testing too! Simply reading documentation and verifying that it works and is accurate is a great help.
Screencasting/video editing/etc - beyond the black and white page, Jokosher can use any media skills you have. Create new types of documentation and learning aids.
Getting Started
Be realistic - The world of free/open source software is full of projects that got started and went nowhere. This is something Jokosher wants to avoid. Consider carefully what you can commit to and stick to it. It's better to make a small but useful contribution than to commit to something you can't carry out.
Join the mailing list - development and documentation information flows back and forth on the mailing list, so you'll want to be subscribed. Patches can also be submitted to the list. You can find information on joining the mailing list as well as a link to the archives here.
Get a Wiki login - If you'll be editing documentation on the Wiki, you'll need a Wiki login ID and password. Go to UserPreferences to create an account. Read Creating a Profile on that page for useful hints.
Drop by the IRC - we hang out in #jokosher on irc.freenode.net. There is someone there nearly any time of day. You can ask questions, get help, or just keep up on what's going on. If you can't join IRC, check out IrcLogs for up to date logs.
Introduce yourself - send a brief note of introduction to the mailing list including:
how you can help - skills, experience, what you're thinking of working on.
who you are - name, IRC nick, website, musical interests... Give what information you're comfortable with (the mailing list archives will be public), but remember we can't give you credit if we don't know who you are.
Get Jokosher running on your system - The download page on the Jokosher site is a good place to start.
- If Jokosher is packaged for your distribution, you'll still want to run the current SVN (development version) as well, so you'll be up to date on the latest features.
- Once you have Jokosher installed, you'll find the documentation in the doc/ directory.
- The documentation not distributed with Jokosher can be found on the Wiki.
Pick something to work on. Let us know about it on the mailing list or IRC if possible. Knowing what you're working on saves duplication of effort. See Available Tasks below for things that need done.
Do the work
- If you're working on the Wiki, make sure to log in so you get recognition for what you did.
- At first makes some small changes and ask for feedback. Once you've got a few patches accepted, you can start making bigger changes.
Celebrate Congratulations! At this point you are a member of the Jokosher Documentation team. Blog about it! Tell your friends! Tell the world!
Getting Help
Information on brushing up on your documentation skills (or learning new ones) can be found on EditingDocumentation
Remember, you are not alone. Stay connected with the rest of the development team. Ask questions! Don't get discouraged! We want you to be involved in Jokosher for a long time to come.