> Another problem with computer users, as opposed to hobbyists and/or
> people who make their livings programming/maintaining/designing
> computers, is that most of them are willing to pay rather than to do
> for themselves, and this includes documentation. It is quite frankly
> easier and faster to plunk down $20 or $30 or $40 for a book than to
> spend hours helping create documentation, hours that could be spent with
> children or going fishing or doing anyn number of other worthwhile things.
>
> I didn't help make a cooperative repair manual for my Jeep Cherokee. I
> simply went down to the parts store and bought one. And I don't begrudge
> its authors the money they earned from writing it, either.
...and that's where the fatal flaw in my plan may lie: getting the 'average user' to invest time
into collaborative documentation. I absolutely agree about many people being willing willing to
pay for the time a good class or manual will save. I've made my living training such people.
Perhaps my efforts with the 'docforge' (I'm really liking that name) idea would be better targeted
toward techies who know how to communicate information to non-geeks or who, to turn your example
around, want to contribute their understanding of a program's use to it's betterment but don't
want to spend the time, effort and, for a first time author, probably money nescessary to try and
publish what they have to say through traditional channels. Which brings us to another well-made
point: The interface is key.
Maybe when I have some free time (HA!) I'll try and put that together.
I certainly the idea of basing revisions for the 2nd edition of a book on an open feedback system,
by the way. Publishing at least the errata for free online would be extremely handy. While I have
a pretty large collection of tech books (for all my talk about web based stuff, nothing beats
pages your my hand for easy access, IMO), almost none of them cover specific applications because
they develop and change so fast that by the time a book on the subject hit the shelves could it
could already be a version or two out of date.
--Brad
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