Interest in a comprehensive manual

[Chris D]

Hi list,

One of the most frequent criticisms levelled against OSS is that there is often a lack of up-to-date user guides or manuals. The main reason for this is of course that writing documentation is not really much fun for developers, and takes a lot of time. Developers need to eat/make a living too (something that is often overlooked by OSS evangelists).

With the above in mind, I would like put to put out for expressions of interest the following idea: the plan would be to set up (most likely) a Kickstarter project to get a full, comprehensive AutoKey manual created. The funding goal would be set based on my estimation of how much time would be involved in the creation of said manual. Clearly, if such a manual was not of value to enough people, the project would not get funded. This would be disappointing but does prevent me from potentially wasting my time writing a document that has no value, and also gives me fair compensation for the time I put into writing the manual.

-- Chris

[Kevin]

On May 17, 10:02 pm, Chris D <cdek...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> With the above in mind, I would like put to put out for expressions of
> interest the following idea: the plan would be to set up (most likely) a
> Kickstarter project to get a full, comprehensive AutoKey manual created.
>

If it helps the community, I'm in.

Furthermore, I'd like to add that I think using Kickstarter to fund
the documentation project is a fantastic idea. Especially if it brings
more awareness to the AutoKey project at a time when you're in need of
volunteer maintainers and so forth to sustain it.

[Kevin]

On May 17, 10:02 pm, Chris D <cdek...@gmail.com> wrote:

> With the above in mind, I would like put to put out for expressions of
> interest the following idea: the plan would be to set up (most likely) a
> Kickstarter project to get a full, comprehensive AutoKey manual created.
>

...not to mention ports to other platforms. At a certain level of
funding, would you consider putting some weight behind porting efforts
to Mac and/or Windows, as I've seen some Kickstarter-funded indie game
developers do for Linux ports? Or is that still entirely dependent
upon volunteers coming forward to do the porting?

No hard feelings, either way. You've done plenty to get AutoKey where
it is right now. :)

[Edward Shapard]

Perhaps a wiki?

[Chris D]

Well one positive reply is a good start :) 

Ports to other platforms are an interesting idea, but at this stage I would say both Windows and Mac have very good equivalents so it would be a lower priority. There will be challenges to overcome on Linux in the near future with the transition to Wayland. 

We already have a wiki - it is what it is, but without developers putting time into it, the quality is never very high. The proposed documentation project could be done on a wiki, it's just about compensating people fairly for their time.

[Kevin]

On May 18, 8:16 pm, Chris D <cdek...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Ports to other platforms are an interesting idea, but at this stage I would
> say both Windows and Mac have very good equivalents so it would be a lower
> priority. There will be challenges to overcome on Linux in the near future
> with the transition to Wayland.

Yes, they do, just not ones where you can write scripts in Python. :)
I also have to remind myself that not everyone is as fickle about
their choice of OS platform as I am, hopping three OSes, with Dropbox
providing the necessary continuity for personal files and application
settings. Without cross-platform (in most cases Free/open-source)
software like LibreOffice and KeePass, I wouldn't be able to do this.
Suppose most normal folks would just like to set themselves up with
whatever's nevessary to get real work done in *one* OS and stick with
it. But being able to tote your massive AutoKey phrase library along
with you would seem invaluable if you ever *do* need to switch OSes,
more so if you do so with some regularity.

Converters might be easier to implement than a full-on port, but I
gather from other discussions in the forum (e.g., re: PhraseExpress)
that that's not always a straightforward task either.

In any case, I do fully understand where this would fall on your list
of priorities at the moment. Especially since Wayland was something I
hadn't even previously considered, and now that I have, seems kind of
scary, even for a non-developer imagining it from a developer's
perspective. :/

Cheers,
Kevin

[Andreas Schamanek]

On May 18, 4:02 am, Chris D <cdek...@gmail.com> wrote:
> the plan would be to set up (most likely) a
> Kickstarter project to get a full, comprehensive AutoKey manual created.

I don't have any experience with either manuals/documentation nor
Kickstarter. But I welcome the idea. I would definitely pledge for the
project.

[jos...@main.nc.us]

I'm a bit hammered at the moment with work, but once documentation is
written, I will try to help edit it (if desired) as I did with Keith on
the intro and installation sections.

Joe

[jos...@main.nc.us]

This is the first I've heard of Kickstarter. It's about time someone
created a bounty system that works. I've just glanced at it, but it looks
great!

Joe

[Ciro Santilli]

I have a desire for github + pandoc markdown for the format:

https://github.com/cirosantilli/autokey-doc

For a wiki, which is the best?

Wikispaces?

http://www.wikispaces.com/