Re: [oswg] Linux Knowledge Base project

[Roger Dingledine <arma@mit.edu>]

I've cc'ed this to the linuxkb list. Hopefully they'll get it
and respond more thoroughly than I can. (I've mostly been letting
them do their thing, since they have a much better grasp on what they 
want than I do.)

As for other projects, http://www.i-docs.org/ is something to take
a look at. The LinuxKB team is talking to them now about ways of
working together.

To my knowledge, the Cheek DB and the LinuxKB Org are the two main
players at this point. If there are others, they're being awfully
quiet. So far, the projects we've found have slightly different goals.
One of my general tasks as seul leader is to keep an eye out for 
projects that are duplicating each others work, and introduce
them to each other.

As for the Cheek DB issues, aside from the political issues (and
there are political issues -- has to do with whether the goal is to
make money or to offer a high-quality free service) the main 
technical difference is that he's trying to collect docs from
everywhere, and the LinuxKB Org is *creating* docs also. Well,
the other technical difference is that our drill-down search techniques
are actually effective. And another one is that we have all the content
locally, so we know it will be there. But this is described better at 
http://www.linuxkb.org/developers.html#diff and I'll let the LinuxKB
folks read this and respond more in-depth.
(Or maybe they'll decide to ignore us entirely and keep doing
development work rather than discussion. We'll see. :)

Thanks,
--Roger
 
> On Tue, 17 Aug 1999, Roger Dingledine wrote:
> 
> > We've already started a Linux Knowledge Base Project, at
> > http://www.linuxkb.org/
> 
> !!!  Roger -- this looks an awful lot like the Open Source Documentation
> Index idea I was talking about here.  
> 
> I have some questions, however:
> 
> 1) Will the LinuxKBP have human "guides" akin to those at
> theminingco.com?  People who are able to volunteer as librarians to
> filter thought things and rate/annotate/organize things with a human
> touch?  
> 
> I see that there's the intent that all docs will be hand-catagorized,
> but will this catagorization include creating an abstract for that
> document so people can get an idea if it's what they're looking for
> without having to actually go read it?  Will the catagorization include
> a rating system, so the guides (and even users) can rate the quality and
> usefulness of the document?  Will the catagorization include a "prereq
> skill level" rating, telling people whether the document is written
> assuming the reader is a "new user", a "casual user", an "advanced
> user", or a "guru"?  Etc.
> 
> 2) Is the LinuxKBP limited to Linux-specific documentation/information?
> For example, if Jane happens need information about FreeBSD, will the
> LKBP be of any use to her whatsoever?  (From the name, I would have to
> assume that it is Linux-specific).
> 
> 3) Are you serious about mirroring all existing content?  Perhaps I've
> misread this, but it seems like the LKBP is looking to actually keep a
> copy of all Linux-related open source documentation on your machines.
> 
> 4) Is there a mailing list or other public forum for discussing the
> KLBP?  (I'm very interested in knowing how the project is progressing,
> and if there's a mailing list, I will subscribe).
> 
> 5) Have you made any decisions about the format in which new
> documentation should be submitted?  (and all that that entails)
> 
> 
> > So...my advice is to drop them a line and ask if you can help out.
> > http://www.linuxkb.org/signup.html has a signup checklist plus a (slightly
> > out of date but very detailed) description of progress.
> 
> If you would like, I could add the LinuxKBP as a "project" on the OSWG
> site with a description, contact information, and a related discussion
> group (on the fancy new OSWG Discussion Board :).  Let me know.
> 
> - deb
> 
> 
> -- 
> The Puffin Group
> deb@thepuffingroup.com
> http://www.thepuffingroup.com
> 
> Open Source Writers Group
> http://www.thepuffingroup.com/oswg