> ...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.
Well, yes and no. For Fred User, who just wants an inexpensive, working
collection of software on his system and doesn't care what it is or how it
got there, you're probably right. However, I've talked to plenty of
people, many on IRC or Y! chat or similar, who use Linux but have neither
the knowledge nor inclination to contribute code. Their areas of interest
and expertise simply lie elsewhere. They do, though, share their
experiences with other users by helping them interactively, and I believe
that these are the people who would jump at the chance to write docs for
their favorite pieces of software.
Levi
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