ubuntu-manual team mailing list archive

[JaminDay <jaminday+ubuntu@xxxxxxxxx>]

Tacantara,

Yes I hear what you are saying and can see where you are coming from.
However remember that we are aiming this manual to be friendly to new
people coming fresh from windows/mac or who aren't very tech-savvy. A
large number of these people will have absolutely no interest in
learning scripting, and who will be put off by using the command line. I
do understand that the CLI is extremely powerful and flexible, however
many of these people will be thinking "I never had to type anything in
windows or mac to do this stuff, why would I want to learn a new OS
where I have to type just to get something working?" if we hit them with
it right at the start. For those that do want to learn more about
scripting and CLI etc, there are boundless resources available for them
to access - I just don't think that is the point of this manual.

I don't want to open a can of worms here about the whole CLI vs GUI
debate as this isn't the place, and I know lots of people have strong
opinions on this. I guess the question is, should being comfortable with
the CLI be a pre-requisite for someone to learn and become comfortable
using Ubuntu effectively? Surely there is a place in linux/ubuntu for
the average joe's wife that just wants to know how to install the
operating system, surf the net, chat to people, and watch videos etc,
and I think Ubuntu has progressed to a point now where this can largely
be done sans-CLI.

Anyway that's where I see the first part of this manual heading, with a
gentle introduction to the CLI later on.

Benjamin - I agree that sticking with 10 chapters is a good idea, so it
stays user-friendly, light and accessible. Perhaps we can incorporate
some of Ilya's ideas into the existing 10 chapters as you suggested?

-- 
Ordering of content might need some tweaking
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/504668
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu
Manual Team, which is a bug assignee.

Status in Ubuntu Manual: Confirmed

Bug description:
I have been taking a look at our current TOC and am wondering whether it needs to be tweaked slightly. My concern is that we will be asking users to open a terminal and type commands within the first six chapters, however it is not until chapter 7 that we have an 'introduction to the terminal' that explains what it is and what sudo means etc. This doesn't make sense to me and could be confusing/offputting to a beginner.

My suggestion is this:

1. Rename chapter 6 to simply "Updates and Upgrades", and remove the section on "system maintenance".
2. Rename chapter 7 to "System Maintenance", and make the content on system maintenance (that was in chapter 6) a new subsection of chapter 7, following the 'introduction to the terminal' subsection.

That way, I think we could almost get away with not using the command line at all for the entire first part of the manual, as it's mostly gui-based stuff. Then when the reader gets to part II - advanced, the first thing they read is an introduction to the terminal.

Hope that all made sense. Anyone have any other suggestions?