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Non-programmers text -rev
Don't know if this helps, but here it is. Maybe others will revise too.
I'll work on some more as I get time.
Bud
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<Title> Tasks for non programmers</Title>
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<H1>Now is the hour for every good man...<H1>
...and woman to do something for Independence, Linux and Linux
users who are presently abandoned to their fate. You can help!
<br>
Here are some tasks which <bd>you</bd> can take charge, even if you are
not a programmer.
<ol>
=========
; Propaganda has more bad connotations nowadays than good, promote is what we
want? Bud
=========
<li><H3>Promote and PR - We need to get the word out</H3>
<p>What Independence will be able to do for the Linux community depends on how
many people are willing to help. You can improve the writing
where Independence goals are described, write to computer
related magazines or speak about Independence on mail lists
who have similar goals. Your efforts in this
area could have significant influence on the number of Independence
developers. Every small contribution will increase the number Linux
users and by promoting Indy it will make other
distributions pay close attention to users they presently ignore.</p>
<li><H3>Web design</H3>
<p>A bad or poorly constructed web page would make our efforts look foolish.
Indy needs promoters and developers, we don't want to chase them
away by having a poorly constructed web site. We need good HTML writers with
knowledge in that field which will give us good web design that enables us to
move pages around on the web site without them being unlinked.</p>
<li><H3>Organization</H3>
<p>Someone who is able to help manage our volunteers, get them working,
helping each other in their selected tasks. We also need help organizing web
services and projects.</p>
<li><H3>RPM building or maintenance</H3>
<p>Building RPMS is not a particularly difficult task, it consists mainly of
recompiling the software and listing the files it installs, plus
writing 10 lines of an install script. However at Indy we strive for
building RPMS which make a program as plug and play as possible, A knowledge of
where the installed files should go is also a great help.</p>
<p>If you are not an experienced RPM builder, you could still
maintain some of them. Most of Indy's RPMS are clean in the sense
that when building they won't pollute your file system and a user will not need
to be logged in as root for building them. That means that if the original
source didn't need patches for Indy then all you need to do
is download the new version of the software, change the version number
in the spec file you got with the old SRPM and then "rpm -ba
myspecfile". Easy isn't it? By doing this, you would relieve some burdens
from other people.</p>
<li><H3>Software selection</H3>
<p>We strongly believe that intelligent software selection is
the most important factor for making Linux easy and useful. If
you know a program which is better than its equivalent which is already in
Indy, tell us. If you know a program that is not in Indy, and covers a
need you think important, then tell us. We need your opinions about
programs you have tried and were satisfied with and the ones you were not.
It will give others a chance to evaluate programs and we need opinions from
the new user and the more experienced.</p>
<p>We are interested in games, programs for the home (e.g. managing a
check book), connecting to dial up sites, ways to improve integration in
companies who use Windows or Macs, easing system administration,
WYSIWYG word processors, graphics and music creation .
We also would like to make known the great amount of software
available for Linux. By doing so, we will increase the desirability
Linux, therefore its use.<p>
<p>We would like to provide visual programming tools for programmers coming
from Windows. We would like to include Crystal Space or a similar
game design engine in order to help increase the number of games available for
Linux.</p>
<p>Independence is based of free software, it cannot ship commercial
software. We also think it necessary to shun software where the first
version is free and the next version is not (eg ghostscript). Software which
is free only for personal use is something we do and can accept, if there is
no alternative. Finally, a program which can only be distributed with a fee
is a no, no in Independence.<p>
<p> Usually a CD ROM is far less expensive than
downloading from the Internet. We are working towards that goal of making
available a CD ROM via some commercial source such as cheap bytes. Cable
modems and public institutions which have fast access to the Internet are
able to download via FTP from our site.</p>
<li><H3>Translating</H3>
<p>Some parts of the installation refers to Red Hat, therefore, we have to
change these references to comply with copy write laws. Moreover, mention
of commercial features such as privileged FTP sites we cannot provide.
We have to fix the references that says the distribution supports various
languages. But, if you want to support Indy and your national language, then
learn about <em>xgettext</em> and help us with tranlations. We also need
people to translate manuals for some application software we think extremely
important</p>
<li><H3>Writing docs<H3>
<p>Including great software or having nice features isn't that useful if
people don't know about it or how to use it. Documenting Indy is a task as
important as any. If you are a good writer, this is a task for you.
</p>
<li><H3>Testing<H3>
<p>Sometimes a program looks great on its home site but will fail
miserably when used for real, We don't want to ship lemons.
Sometimes a program is broken due to our supporters of Indy making a
sub-standard package, or, a part in the installation itself and the program did
not run as was intended. We need people to test both our work and the
software we include. We want to improve Indy.<p>
<li><H3>Distribution snooping</H3>
<p>Try other distributions and write motivated analysis of them
with emphasis towards those features you would like to have in
Indy. It would really be nice to have a distribution which is a
synthesis of what is available in the Linux world and to pick the best for
Indy. </p>
<li><H3>Guru work</H3>
<p>Having good examples of how to configure your system in various situations
similar to one a user may face can do wonders for easing
configuration tasks. Nothing discourages a new Linux user more than the
inability to install or configure his software. Unfortunately, for many
programs, those examples are either missing or inadequate. If you are an
expert or can help with system administration, this can be a great help for the
new Indy user and to some of the less experienced users. </p>
</ol>
<H2>Lets make it happen</H2>
<p>We can do it when we get help. A small team will be unable make
Indy put a significant dent in the world of Linux. If you are tired of
getting distributions which doesn't pay attention to your problems, if you want
to help make a distribution for the people, if you think Linux
is a good thing that should be available for everyone instead of a
few, then <HREF Joining page>
</p>
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