ubuntu-manual team mailing list archive

[ilya haykinson <haykinson@xxxxxxxxx>]

@Benjamin,

I am not really tied to the number of chapters. For example, Chapter 1
and Chapter 2 are not really long enough to be "chapters" in their own
right, and can be considered more of a Prologue. There's also a way to
reorganize my proposed set into fewer chapters, such as for example:

Prologue and About Ubuntu (current chapters 1 and 2)
1. Installation (can keep the current chapter, though minus the discussion on non-Desktop versions; these move to ch 15)
2. Understanding your desktop (keep the "Gnome environment" part of the chapter)
3. Getting online (networking, web browsing, email, IM)
4. Using your peripherals (audio, printing, video, multi-mon, etc; talk about managing media within Nautilus too)
5. Controlling your system  (Preferences and Administration menus, discussion on security)
6. Using Ubuntu applications (go over each of the default applications and accessories in the Applications menu)
7. Finding and installing more software (Talk about Software Center, touch on synaptic)
8. Keeping your system working well (talk about Update Manager, and any other novice system maintenance tasks)
9. Advanced topics: Terminal, Troubleshooting common problems (current "Introduction to the terminal" section of chapter 7, current chapter 10)
10. Advanced topics: Learning more about Ubuntu, Other applications (talk about other distros, and how to learn Linux better; current chapter 9)

So here's a way to cut this down to short prologue + 10 chapters. An in-
depth discussion of the CLI can go with troubleshooting in chapter 9,
and other apps can live under "learning more" in chapter 10.

As far as content, I think that we may want to rethink task allocation
and make it sub-chapter (i.e. have second-level headings assignable),
which will allow us to work on the final structure and will allow more
people to collaborate.

However, I do think that the current structure focuses entirely too much
on topics that assume that the user does not have Ubuntu at all (current
chapters 1, 2, and 3), or has Ubuntu working well and wants to do more
with it (chapters 5 - 10). Philosophically, if we're aiming at new users
-- new computer users, new Ubuntu users -- we need to do a kick-ass job
on the core "using Ubuntu" use case, and can leave the really advanced
or ancillary use cases mainly to the documentation team.

@tacantra, I too like the fact that contemporary GUI-based operating
systems, Ubuntu included, often have powerful command prompts. However,
I think that -- much like JaminDay wrote -- having the CLI featured
heavily in a beginners manual is going to be counter-productive to
helping new users feel comfortable that they can use Ubuntu instead of
Windows/Mac OS. This does not, however, prevent us from including some
CLI stuff in asides clearly marked as advanced use, even earlier in the
book than the last few chapters.

-- 
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?