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> I'm interesting in having a discussion of writing documentation for open
> source software (OSS). Why does it seem that there are so few tech writers
> participating in OSS?
I think that's less true now that a few years ago. Documentation is much
improved on the major FLOSS projects (Free/Libre Open Source Software). The
reason may be the announcement of the GNU Free Documentation Licence a few
years ago. The fact that a licence was developed to encourage documentation
helped to focus discussion on the subject - even though some of the discussion
has been negative. The Debian Project, for example, feels that the FDL isn't
free enough, even though the Free Software Foundation approves it. Yet even
negative discussion means that attention is being paid to the problem.
That's not to say that more help isn't needed. For example, OpenOffice.org has
a full help system, but much of it needs to be updated, some needs to be
expanded, and some is inaccurate. But at least there is a core of people who
are working on free documentation.
I should also mention that, if you expand the definition of "tech-writer" a
bit, there is also a group of us who write books and articles about FLOSS.
> Yes, we have day jobs working on other projects, but
> so do most programmers who develop OSS. Why are there so many OSS
> programmers, and (proportionately) so few OSS tech writers?
FLOSS programmers tend to be working on what they love or what's important to
them. Many tech writers aren't very technically-oriented, so FLOSS projects
don't attract them. They don't have the interest in technology that makes them
want to deal with it outside of working hours.
Nor are a lot of them tied in to the network of developers where they work, so
they don't hear the philosophical reasons for promoting FLOSS, or even hear
that FLOSS exists. You won't hear many tech-writers saying that open access to
an operating system and basic productivity software is necessary to be a full
participant in industrial society. And when was the last time anyone on this
list even considered an open source or free software tool for their work?
> I'd like to hear from those of you who actually have spent significant time
> working on OSS projects. (Bruce Byfield, I'm thinking of you.)
Well, I thought you might be ;>
> What got you into it?
I've always had an interest in alternatives. I'm the sort who prefers a small,
excellent restaurant nobody knows about to the latest hot-spot. I like small
presses and independent record labels more often that I do the best sellers. I
hadn't used DOS very long when I switched to N-DOS, then DR-DOS. When Windows
3.1 came out, I went to OS/2. So, when Linux reached the stage where I could
work comfortably with it, I started using it.
Also, the philosophical and social phenomeon fascinates me. The stereotype is
that geeks are non-political, but here's a bunch of them politicizing their
work and everything that's important to them. To say nothing of the fact that
the way they organize themselves would confound economists, if they ever
bothered to investigate it. As Eben Moglen, the lawyer behind the GNU General
Public Licence says, they're acting like anarcho-syndicalists, forming
temporary associations for a particular purpose, and being reward only by
personal gratification and having the final product. Even if you believe that
they are all naive idealists (and I don't), this is still fascinating behavior
in a predominantly capitalist global economy.
Finally, it was a niche I could fill in journalism. I started doing computer
journalism just before FLOSS really took off, and it's easier to get started
and make a name for yourself in a new niche than try to crowd into the existing
ones. So, quite selfishly and unlike most people, I found FLOSS a way I could
make money.
> How do you make time for it?
I don't watch TV. When my wife and I are at the checkout stand at the grocery
store,we see all these magazines with celebrities on them, and we always turn
to each other and ask, "Who ARE these people?" Then we shrug and get on with
something that matters.
Seriously, I'd give the same answer I do to people who ask how I find time to
read. If you're interested in something, you don't have to make time for it.
You squeeze it in, somehow.
If you don't squeeze it in, then you're not really interested in it. You're
like one of those people who is always going on about the great novel that
they're going to write. You're more interested in fantasizing, or being thought
the sort of person who would do such a thing than actually doing it.
> What suggestions do you have for tech writers who are interested in getting
> involved in OSS?
Before doing anything, find out about the philosophy. A good place to start is
www.gnu.org. You should also look at www.cluetrain.com, which is about
business, but was written by open source participants. You have to understand
that you're looking to join a group of people who have little interest in
organization or controlling the flow of information, and who tend to judge each
other on the quality and amount of their work. If you aren't prepared to work
within these standards, you're going to be uncomfortable.
FLOSS people can also be very, very, frightening bright and passionate.
Another thing you need to do is discard any vague ideas you have about FLOSS.
It's not shareware, and it's not second rate. It's not on the periphery any
more, either; if you work in an office or use an Internet, then you've probably
been exposed to FLOSS whether you knew it or not. But even a hint of these
attitudes is going to make you come across as patronizing. FLOSS people have
heard all these misconceptions before, and many of them are no longer patient
about refuting them.
Finally, find a project you enjoy or have an interest in. Otherwise, you won't
fit in. You'll be grimly grinding away while others are enjoying themselves,
and that will put you and everyone you're in contact with in a bad mood.
--
Bruce Byfield bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com 604-421.7177
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