Overview bloat? (was [Fedora Project Wiki] Update of "Docs/Beats/Desktop" by RahulSundaram)
The following page has been changed by RahulSundaram: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Docs/Beats/Desktop
- = Comment =
- Since the overview section covers the destkop already, do we need this section for FC6?
Good question. My thoughts are like this ...
1. What does a user/reader do when coming to a massive release notes like this, with a comprehensive Tables of Contents? a. Look through the ToC for relevant items and go read them? b. Read the introduction/overview, and consider going deeper?
Our current setup actually supports both, except that from the OverView, the reader is not directed to the relevant content areas. Instead, they get a comprehensive overview right there.
Perhaps the OverView should say something brief, then link to more content?
We faced this with FC5, where the OverView grew to be so big that it was repeating information stated elsewhere, which means it now had to be maintained twice.
The OverView is starting to remind me of the old Fedora/RHEL release notes. One, long page with all the information in brief.
Is it useful to have both styles supported?
- Karsten
Karsten Wade wrote:
The following page has been changed by RahulSundaram: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Docs/Beats/Desktop
- = Comment =
- Since the overview section covers the destkop already, do we need this section for FC6?
Good question. My thoughts are like this ...
- What does a user/reader do when coming to a massive release notes
like this, with a comprehensive Tables of Contents? a. Look through the ToC for relevant items and go read them? b. Read the introduction/overview, and consider going deeper?
Our current setup actually supports both, except that from the OverView, the reader is not directed to the relevant content areas. Instead, they get a comprehensive overview right there.
Perhaps the OverView should say something brief, then link to more content?
We faced this with FC5, where the OverView grew to be so big that it was repeating information stated elsewhere, which means it now had to be maintained twice.
The OverView is starting to remind me of the old Fedora/RHEL release notes. One, long page with all the information in brief.
Is it useful to have both styles supported?
As the beat writer for the section, I chose the current style to give our users a very quick glance at major changes rather than make them scroll through different sections to get an idea of the improvements. It could be possible that there are desktop changes that arent major and require some brief coverage in other sections but if a section is empty as it is right now, we can drop it before the final release IMO.
Rahul
On Wed, 2006-08-30 at 19:38 +0530, Rahul wrote:
As the beat writer for the section, I chose the current style to give our users a very quick glance at major changes rather than make them scroll through different sections to get an idea of the improvements. It could be possible that there are desktop changes that arent major and require some brief coverage in other sections but if a section is empty as it is right now, we can drop it before the final release IMO.
I agree with both of these. I just don't want to see all the content migrate to the OverView. :) As the overview beat writer, I'm sure you'd agree.
Let's wait until 20 Sep (the deadline we're pushing out to the devel lists) for any changes/additions from that group. At that point, we'll cull all the beats that have no content.
- Karsten
On Wed, 2006-08-30 at 07:48 -0700, Karsten Wade wrote:
On Wed, 2006-08-30 at 19:38 +0530, Rahul wrote:
As the beat writer for the section, I chose the current style to give our users a very quick glance at major changes rather than make them scroll through different sections to get an idea of the improvements. It could be possible that there are desktop changes that arent major and require some brief coverage in other sections but if a section is empty as it is right now, we can drop it before the final release IMO.
I agree with both of these. I just don't want to see all the content migrate to the OverView. :) As the overview beat writer, I'm sure you'd agree.
Let's wait until 20 Sep (the deadline we're pushing out to the devel lists) for any changes/additions from that group. At that point, we'll cull all the beats that have no content.
+1. From a docs perspective, a good way to make the Overview do what's needed while maintaining a slim profile is for any particular bullet to be no more than a short sentence of, say, 20 words. If you need more space than that, it's probably better pushed to the appropriate section. That allows the idea to be fully explained without overloading the Overview, and might mean the difference between a "missing" section and a section with meaningful content.
docs@lists.stg.fedoraproject.org
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Karsten Wade -
Paul W. Frields -
Rahul Sundaram