ubuntu-manual team mailing list archive

[Kevin Godby <godbyk@xxxxxxxxx>]

Minutes of the General Meeting of the Ubuntu Manual Team
9 June 2012
#ubuntu-manual on irc.freenode.net

Meeting log: http://irclogs.ubuntu.com/2012/06/09/%23ubuntu-manual.html#t18:04

Kevin (godbyk) called the meeting to order at 18:04 UTC.

== Attendance ==

In attendance were:
* ajmontag
* c7p
* carsten
* godbyk
* hannie
* jimc
* kereltis
* meetingology
* PaddyLandau
* thorwil
* TonyP

== New member introductions ==

We had three new team members join us to help with editing the manual:

TonyP: I am Tony Pursell.  I live in the UK.  You can see me at
https://launchpad.net/~ajpursell and
http://wiki.ubuntu.com/TonyPursell. I have volunteered to do editing
on this project.

jimc: I am. Glad to be here.  Have been contributing for about three
weeks now. Great project. An honor to be a part of this work in
progress.

PaddyLandau: I also live in the UK, in Oxford. I volunteered for
proof-reading after being asked to.

== Editing and proofreading process / status reports ==

The editors in attendance reported that things have been going pretty well.

All of the LibreOffice documents have been converted to LaTeX.

One concern raised was the it would be nice if we could find a LaTeX
editor that could render the PDF in real-time as the TeX file is
edited.  PaddyLandau said he's been trying to use Gummi but that it
hasn't been working with the manual-specific tags (such as \menu,
\application, \screenshot, etc.).  Kevin suggested that Paddy try
TeXworks to see if it fares any better.

== Editing with LibreOffice ==

After some discussion, it was decided that we would no longer accept
LibreOffice documents from authors and editors. Instead, authors and
editors should modify the .tex files. If they are unsure about the
LaTeX syntax or are unable to compile the PDF themselves, they can
pass the .tex file along to the chapter editor to help fix any syntax
errors or other problems.

== Authors and editors working as a team ==

Hannie posted the following document
<https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ar0Z6vOO38EydEdaSnhSX2M2WDdSZ3VGQk1qMDZBbHc#gid=1>
which shows the status of edited sections of the manual.

Hannie also explained that she and Bryan used Ubuntu One to
collaborate on the Learning More chapter.  Bryan wrote the .tex file
and shared it with Hannie using Ubuntu One. Hannie could then edit the
file and discuss the changes with Bryan. Once they were finished,
Hannie would upload the file to the bzr repository.  Other
author-editor pairs are welcome to try the same workflow.

== Style guide ==

The current Ubuntu Manual Style Guide is available at
<http://files.ubuntu-manual.org/style-guide.pdf>.

Hannie asked if we should use the Ubuntu wiki for the style guide so
that authors and editors could easily add things to the style guide.
Kevin and others raised concerns about a wiki-based style guide
becoming inconsistent with multiple editors.  It was decided to
continue using the PDF style guide.

Kevin clarified the usage of \menu and \application:

\menu is only for pull-down menus (like File, Edit, View) and menu
items (like Open..., Save, Print..., Copy, etc.)  \menu can also be
used for menu items under indicator menus.

\application should be used for application names (from a user's
perspective).  Elements of Unity (including the Dash and the Launcher)
should *not* use the \application tag.  Similarly, Nautilus shouldn't
use the \application tag either.

Editors and authors were invited to email Kevin or the list if they
have further questions about the usage of various tags.

It was also decided that “Dash” and “Launcher” shall be capitalized
throughout the manual.  (The official Ubuntu docs were inconsistent on
this point and therefore didn't provide much guidance.)

The style guide PDF is updated periodically, so you may wish to ensure
you have the latest copy.  Kevin will email the list when he makes
major additions or changes to the style guide.

== Indexing the manual ==

benonsoftware previously volunteered to index the manual. Kevin will
contact Ben to see if he's still interested. In addition, jimc
volunteered to help with indexing.

Kevin will write up some instructions on how to create indexes in
LaTeX and guidance on what kinds of entries should appear in the
index.

== Screenshot editors ==

c7p and kereltis volunteered to be screenshot editors.  They will
retake each screenshot that appears in the manual to ensure they are
consistent.

== Any other business ==

No other business was brought forward.

== Adjourned ==

The meeting was adjourned at 19:49 UTC.