Date: Wed, 05 Apr 2000 13:25:49 +0200 From: Sheldon Hearn <sheldonh@uunet.co.za> To: dhesi@rahul.net (Rahul Dhesi) Cc: freebsd-stable@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: How YOU can contribute (was Re: FreeBSD/Opensource is not free) Message-ID: <2853.954933949@axl.ops.uunet.co.za> In-Reply-To: Your message of "Wed, 05 Apr 2000 02:40:36 MST." <20000405094036.A25AC7C2B@yellow.rahul.net>
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On Wed, 05 Apr 2000 02:40:36 MST, Rahul Dhesi wrote: > I have wanted to contribute documentation, but found no good way to do > it. > > To write documentation, I need authoritative information. That is hard > to get. A lot of people have expressed the same sentiment, so here's one way you can help. Subscribe to the FreeBSD questions mailing list. Don't answer questions for at least a week or two. Just read what goes on, get to recognize a few names etc. Also, I suggest keeping local copies of the messages you have read, since I don't really like our archive search engine (personal preference). Once you feel "at home" on the list, start watching out for recurring questions which are either not answered in the FAQ nor Handbook or to which these documents provide obsolete answers. When you notice such a question, grovel back through your archives for the answers posted on the list. Condense the answers that didn't get got shot down (and there are lots of those). For each FAQ entry and corresponding answer that you come up with, submit a PR. If you don't feel comfortable creating patches against the sgml doc sources, just send in the plain text. Not sending patches will slow the process of incorporating your submission into the FAQ, but there are folks who're willing to make patches given plain text, if you give them enough time. Oh, and if you submit a patch instead of plain text, stick "[PATCH]" at the beginning of the Synopsis for the PR. And please please PLEASE! Do not be disheartened if your first few submissions are turned down. Although it's usually true that "something is better than nothing", the reality is that many committers prefer to wait for "something better" if what you submit is clumsy or could be improved on. Now remember that nobody is obliged to contribute to FreeBSD in this way. However, if you really _do_ want to help, you now know how! :-) Ciao, Sheldon. To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-stable" in the body of the message
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