Subject: Linux-Activists - DOC Channel digest. 93-2-1-20:19
From: "Linux Activists" <[email-masked]>
To: "Linux-Activists" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 2 Mar 1993 02:48:13 +0200

Topics:
	 Re: Ballooning Mail Chapter
	 Ballooning (blooming?) guides 8-)

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From: Matt Welsh <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Ballooning Mail Chapter
Date: Mon, 1 Mar 1993 21:58:54 +0200

>As you will remember, I'm currently busy writing a chapter on email
>management. However, I have the feeling that things are getting out
>of hand.

I say go for it. There's no reason why the user's and system admin's
guides shouldn't go all out and give tons of information where 
appropriate: they're not meant as introductory texts (excepting where
it's easier to point to other books instead of re-documenting the wheel).

I plan to write (or help write) the TCP/IP setup/config chapter for
the System Admin's guide. Your chapters will probably be dealing with
setting up UUCP, mail, etc. after the kernel and basic software is in
place. The only reason I volunteered for the TCP/IP chapter is that I
rewrote the NET-FAQ and it would be easy to rehash that into the system
admin's guide.

However--- if you've already written a TCP/IP config chapter we'll use
that instead. I think a cooked NET-FAQ (more organized, with much
superfluous information left out) would be good for the TCP/IP setup 
chapter. 

Let me know what direction you're headed. You should probably keep me updated:
if you have chapters already written, send them along to me (as well as
Lars, assuming he's still coordinating the System Admin's guide).

Update for the rest of the Doc Project: working vigilantly on the Install
Guide. Once we all have alpha docs ready we can edit them beyond all
recognition. I want to have alpha docs ready within the next 2 months. 
(Including User's and System Admin's, if at all possible). Even if the
quality isn't the greatest, and all of the details aren't there, you
can still have them as alpha docs and add to them during the edition
phase.

mdw

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From: " (Philip Copeland [SysAdmin])" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Ballooning (blooming?) guides 8-)
Date: Tue, 2 Mar 1993 00:29:06 +0200

| In the meanwhile, I've reached page 25, with a dozen more pages to go.
| In my defense, I would like to say that I prefer to have as much information
| as necessary in the chapter, so that someone configuring smail need
| not handle two (or more) documents at the same time. Especially
| documentation for smail, where the man'page' for the config files
| has 71 troff pages alone:-)

least they're properly fleshed out man pages 8-)

| I think, this will definitely be too much for the sysadmin
| manual, where it is intended to go by common will.

why? As a sysadmin, people will be looking for a table of contents and headings
to search under. The size of the manual shouldn't be offputting, but 
referances from an index or TOC are more what people would want. Certainly for
the complete beginner, there should be a few devoted chapters to foolproof 
administration,... actually I can't remember what was decided,

	a) a set of seperate chapers for the novices to unix, followed by
	   a set of chapters bordering on referance and technical

	or

	b) a set of chapters which have a few brief pages of overview,
	   followed by some pages on setup/examples, followed by involved
	   technical aspects and quirks...

Incidentally I'm completly unfamiliar to texinfo,.. does it provide a hypertext
interface for documents? If not has anyone thought of such a beast?
(something similar to Sun's answerbook I suppose)

| ... of 20 pages for UUCP, 30-something for mail, some 20 or more for
| netnews, finally a 'little bit' on TCP/IP (remember the NET-FAQ
| alone has 70K?)... looks a bit like a NET guide, doesn't it?

[rushing to defence]... It wern't me guv! blame the arpanet geeks,...
The net faq was born out of two nights typing, followed by an immediate
fleshing (people compained that there wasn't enuf in it!) and finally with
the help of several people (Matt Welsh, Rick Sladkey,myself and several 
people's spell checkers) was churned out into the altogether wholly
unremarkable text that has managed to cause more internet upsets than a solar
flare storm....

the net-faq/tutorial was what people wanted (least noone has said otherwise)
though I've been quiet for a while as I'm gathering resources for a National
seminar at Bristol on linux, and it applications towards business, science,
and engineering.. (there'll be a video available for anyone intrested after
I give it (the delux version will have a picture of virtual beer and my mug
replaced by Cindy Crawford 8-))

Now then, A request,... I have no experience of TeX,.. sooo...
hands up all those who will convert the FAQ from ascii to tex?

(Note that the recent NET FAQ is WRONG in several places,.... (sorry matt))

I'll post a corrected copy shortly,... and yes it will be larger than 
before (sheesh!)

Phil
=--=

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