I organized some Drupal 7 documentation sprints the last few Tuesdays (http://groups.drupal.org/node/50403)... They were successful, in that we got a couple of new people going in documentation, and a few patches filed (I'll shout out to trevjs especially, for coming to all of the sprints and patiently working on some patches).
However, the sprints were not very well attended, and we still have a lot to do to get the documentation of Drupal 7 ready for its release (http://drupal.org/node/515870), so I'm wondering how we can get it done.
My questions:
a) Would different sprint times/days work better for people, for IRC sprints?
b) Are there other ways besides IRC sprints to get the work done? I'm thinking about the wonderful effort that happened around updating all the core module help pages (the ones inside Drupal) a couple of months back -- would something like that work here?
c) Do we need to do anything besides this page we've already created (http://drupal.org/node/515870) to help people know what needs to be done? Is the page clear enough?
d) How can we get some new people involved in documentation for this effort, and/or our current contributors motivated?
e) Am I asking the wrong questions, or are there any other things we should discuss around getting Drupal 7 documented?
Please respond here if you have any ideas, answers, more questions, etc.
Comments
Twitter anouncements/reminders?
Not that it would necessarily bring any new contributors but reminders are always nice...
Twitter? Yes, please
I know I would be a lot more likely to remember, stop what I'm working on and come to a doc sprint if someone tweeted about it - my perpetual problem is being so ear-deep in work that I forget about other stuff going on (fortunately my work is in Drupal :-)
--Kelly Bell
Gotham City Drupal
twitter: @kbell | @gothamdrupal
http://drupal.org/user/293443
Change the docs block?
One small thing that would help would be to change the Docs block to provide a direct link to the Drupal 7 issues.
Maybe something like this
Without a link in the block, noone would know that we have a special page for this stuff. And it would save an extra couple of clicks.
Getting New People
In regards to:
I'm thinking that perhaps there are other channels for encouraging people to participate that we haven't yet considered. As an example, there is a local Drupal users group meeting next week where I could bring this up. I've never attended it before, but I wouldn't have a problem standing up and taking a few minutes to talk about why they should all consider helping out with docs, and pointing them in the direction of the next irc sprint.
The sprints have been very helpful for myself as a new contributer to docs, and I think that most people who are just getting started would find the IRC help useful in getting orientated.
I've been doing my best on
I've been doing my best on announcing and reminding about the sprints for the last month or so (other than yesterday, as I was offline in the afternoon) from my @arianesays Twitter account, so anyone who wants a reminder feel free to follow!
I think there's some intimidation factor in diving into IRC sprints or something, especially since there are so many tasks (I think perhaps that's why the Help work went so well, because the goals were so concrete and easy to work on on your own). I know I only really got involved in docs thanks to attending the in person sprints at DrupalCons, because it is nice to have some hand-holding when you get started.
I'll try and get a blog post up soon about the work list for Handbook stuff in particular so hopefully it'll help people get rolling (and maybe cross post it as a post here). Keep the feedback coming, it helps!
Would Love to Help
I would love to help, but the doc sprint times starting at 4 PM Pacific are too early for me, I live in Southern California. I'm generally not available until 8 PM. I'm not too sure how to get started either, so I've not started out on my own. One idea I can think of is if there are several experienced members that wouldn't mind holding a training sprint, or regular sprint in the latter evening hours. Possibly there's enough experienced members that would host in their own time zone, so you don't have an east coaster trying to help someone that lives in Hawaii.
Even a once a month Sat sprint could be doable too.
Mark Schoonover
http://www.thetajoin.com
High Performance Drupal Hosting & IT Services
Saturday sprints could work!
Ariane, I've been meaning to join, but each of the last three (four?) Tuesdays, something came up. By the time I got free (or, in one case, remembered), the sprint was over. Saturdays might work better — with a longer window, I would have more opportunity to join in.
Another thing is that I'm not used to using IRC yet, so getting up to speed with it will help me participate more. I guess that's up to me. :-)
One thing I would really like to help with is the documentation for accessibility — especially when it comes to sufficient color contrast. I'm not sure how that fits into the overall picture, but, if there are more important topics we need to cover first, I am willing to work on them. I'm probably good for a couple hours a week.
And I'll start following your Twitter feed.
Great ideas, keep 'em coming!
Thanks for all the ideas -- here are some more thoughts, to hopefully stimulate even more ideas:
Twitter
I think I posted at least one of the doc sprints I had organized on my Twitter account, but I don't really have a large following, so I am not sure what good it did... Maybe we need a Twitter account for Drupal documentation that we can post to, or maybe we should just establish a #drupal-docs Twitter tag -- would that help?
Docs Block
We do have a link from the Docs Block to the Projects page, and the "help with D7" page is right there. If we add a Drupal 7 doc link to http://groups.drupal.org/node/50403 it should go under Projects, not Issues. I think maybe only Addison can change the doc block?
Local user groups
It would be great if everyone tried at their local user groups to get people interested in contributing back to the Drupal project. Of course, as you can probably guess, I think that documentation is a great way for just about anyone to get started. You can point people to our recently improved http://drupal.org/contribute/documentation Contributing to Documentation section, if they are self-starters.
Local sprints are definitely welcome, too -- some people do better with in-person groups rather than IRC. It's possible that if people want to organize local sprints, that some experienced Drupal docsters could participate via IRC as well, or maybe you have some experienced people in your local area? In our Seattle group, whenever we have a meeting, we have some "co-working" time ahead of it where I'm nearly always available to mentor new contributors, and definitely when we have a DrupalCamp type of event, we build in some sprint time.
Other times
- I'm on the west coast, so the later in the evening Pacific time suggestion might work for me, but it seems it would be limited to Pacific Time folks.
- Saturdays are probably a good idea. I have resisted it, personally, because for me Drupal is a profession rather than a hobby, and I generally don't like to work on Saturdays (cuts into my me-time)... But I do understand that many other potential Drupal contributors don't have work times to contribute. Having an all-day Saturday sprint would also allow people in many time zones to participate throughout the day.
Purpose of sprints
To me, the purposes of a sprint are: (a) get some specific work done, but (b) mostly to get people oriented, mentored, and started so they can later keep working on their own -- or I should not say really "on their own" -- the long-time contributors to Drupal never work in a vacuum. We are on IRC a lot (#drupal-contribute or #drupal-docs), and also communicate back and forth with ideas in the issue queues... So in my mind, the point of the sprint is to get people connected with the network of Drupal contributors, and understanding how they can find things to work on.
Drupal programmer - http://poplarware.com
Drupal author - http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920034612.do
Drupal contributor - https://www.drupal.org/u/jhodgdon
Maybe a front page d.o post?
I just noticed that the drupal.org (d.o) redesign team made a post there and got it onto the front page of d.o -- maybe that would help us get going with D7 doc too?
Drupal programmer - http://poplarware.com
Drupal author - http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920034612.do
Drupal contributor - https://www.drupal.org/u/jhodgdon
I think certainly a lot of
I think certainly a lot of that could be great - the hitch is that all of these things require people to step up and lead these sprints and local user group sessions! (Hint, hint... I know there are more of you out there!) I've made myself available at a couple of coworking and sprint sessions locally to help orient people on contributing to core and docs, but haven't gotten a ton of interest. Will keep at it as time allows.
For me, Drupal is both work and a hobby, but it'd still be really hard for me to find a full weekend day to give up anytime between now and DrupalCon. That said, I am online a fair bit (though sporadically) on the weekends, so if anyone wants guidance on how to get started, feel free to ping me. It is usually easier for me to give good help evenings and weekends, when I'm not focusing on work.
If you're not on IRC yet, there's instructions on getting that set up here: http://drupal.org/irc
As for Twitter, I've been tagging with #drupal and #docs but you have to separate them, as a dash will split the tag. I'd rather not maintain yet another Twitter account (I've got 4 on the go already!), but am happy to keep posting on my personal one.
My best advice to anyone who wants to help, is this: DIVE IN. Don't be afraid to "mess up" because there are mechanisms in place to prevent you from doing any damage. Dig into the issue queue, find something you feel semi-competent to help with, and just make some progress on it. Any progress is good progress. More experienced docs team members can review your work and help out.
Leverage the Drupal Dojo to collaborate and get others involved
After brief bit of a detour, the 2200+ member Drupal Dojo group (http://groups.drupal.org/drupal-dojo) is getting back on track. As I just noted in another thread, I think there could be a good opportunity to leverage the Drupal Dojo to collaborate and get others involved. JoshK, the Dojofather, had already mentioned he'd like to lead some sessions on Drupal 7. Possibly we could produce a whole series on Drupal 7?
Gus Austin
Sounds good...
Some people definitely learn better through videos than through written documentation. So if the Drupal Dojo produces a series of videos on Drupal 7, I'm sure it would be a good thing -- and hopefully we can link to them from the Handbook as well.
If you have some people who find Drupal Dojo but who really want to write documentation, it would be great if you pointed them to http://drupal.org/contribute/documentation so they could work on our official written documentation (which can always use help).
Drupal programmer - http://poplarware.com
Drupal author - http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920034612.do
Drupal contributor - https://www.drupal.org/u/jhodgdon
Will resonate more if the docs team could provide leadership
I think it would resonate more if members the docs team could interface with the Dojo and provide leadership. Possibly there could a regular series of Dojo sessions (maybe a podcast?) that give potential contributors an idea of the status of documentation and specific areas where they could get involved? There also could be 'Dojos' on the local level in which contributing to documentation could be an ongoing project. (see Austin Drupal Dojo - http://groups.drupal.org/node/48080)
All in all, the Drupal Dojo, could be a vehicle to facilitate collaboration and get more people involved in this and other initiatives important to the community (http://groups.drupal.org/node/52473). To do this effectively it will take leaders for each initiative to provide guidance and leadership.
Very much open to structuring the Dojo group and website to help promote and facilitate this effort. Thoughts on what else we can do?
Gus Austin
Nice in theory but...
To be the voice of reason, I'm not sure this is realistic for Docs team to take on at the moment. Unless there is someone who specifically wants to volunteer to coordinate with the Dojo team, that is, then great. We are just trying to get caught up on the top priority matters right now. Mainly:
Between Addi, Jennifer, Lee, and myself, with help from Lisa, Bekasu, Rfay and others we are hacking away at these, but it will be a while before we get all this in hand. If Dojo wants to take on some new training initiatives regarding docs we're absolutely open to it, but they'll have to find the resources for that, we are maxed out!
Producing learning materials and contributing documentation
We're about to launch a Dojo series focusing on Drupal 7. In addition to producing learning materials and directing contributor resources, Stacy Wray (stacywray) will be contributing directly to this documentation effort and interfacing with the docs team. Any guidance on priority topics and issues to tackle will be most appreciated!
Cheers!
Gus Austin
When a sprint isn't going on...
In regards to Jhodgdon in post "Great Ideas Keep Them Up":
IRC has been helpful to me so far. It seems to me, and correct me if I'm wrong, but #drupal-contribute on IRC is also a place to send people who want to get started. I think that we should warn people though that IRC is a random mix, and the response cannot be guaranteed at any given time.
Learning to navigate the issue cue is definitely the key to contributing, but being new to open source myself, the instant feedback provided through IRC has done a lot to improve my connection to all of this.
Maybe contribute is or isn't the best place, but maybe we could create a "ping" list of people who have volunteered to help new doc contributers. These may be code contributers who are willing to answer system related questions, or just open to helping get somebody orientated (and to get on them about extra spaces at the end of lines in api documentation). This list might take the form of a wiki-page.
I think this is what we are talking about here... perhaps you'd prefer to figure out how to keep current contributers involved, and maybe that can be solved with a drupal-docs twitter feed.
Making a list of folks to ping...
That's a good idea...
On the Doc Team page http://drupal.org/contribute/documentation/join we have a list of the "volunteer coordinators", and those folks are obviously good people to ping. I've just added a note that we'd like to make a list of "new person mentors" on that page -- anyone who would like to be listed, let me know.
We should probably also do something like that on the contribute to dev pages, because I think a lot of new folks who think they want to contribute to development, I would like to steer them into starting by contributing to Drupal core API documentation (it's a great way to learn your way around the Drupal source code). I'll see what I can do on http://drupal.org/node/717162 (Helping with dev of Drupal core page).
Drupal programmer - http://poplarware.com
Drupal author - http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920034612.do
Drupal contributor - https://www.drupal.org/u/jhodgdon