ubuntu-manual team mailing list archive

[Jonathan Marsden <jmarsden@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 06/09/2013 08:53 PM, Kevin Godby wrote:

> On Sun, Jun 9, 2013 at 10:44 PM, Jonathan Marsden <jmarsden@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>> But why?  What is the benefit, ...

> Historical reasons, primarily.

> Since we've always had problems with the Ubuntu/Debian packages in
> the past, it's become easier to just recommend that everyone install
> TeX Live from upstream so that they avoid those issues.

OK... thanks for the explanation.

I was hoping to recommend (at least to the Lubuntu folks) a new,
streamlined, package-based way to get set up to do authoring/editing,
using my script... and that installs packaged texlive.

Q1. Is that OK with the existing team?

Taking the idea one stage further:

Q2. How do you feel about updating the instructions on the
ubuntu-manual.org web site to use that new script, and so radically
shortening/simplifying the instructions for getting involved?

I'm willing to update the content there, but clearly that is a "bigger
deal" than just what I/we tell Lubuntu folks on Lubuntu-related mailing
lists etc. about how to get started.  Maybe this should be done later,
say in a month or so, after a few Lubuntu folks have tried "my"
approach, so we have some real world feedback on how well it works?

> Incidentally, it looks like Debian sid has texlive packages that are
> dated 2013. So hopefully Ubuntu will start receiving more regular
> updates of texlive packages (i.e., new packages every six months
> instead of getting behind by a year or more as it once was).

Which should improve the comfort level of moving in the general
direction of having newcomers to the Ubuntu Manual Project install
texlive from packages.  Good :)

I'm not primarily trying to make a philosophical point about packaged
software, here.  I'm mainly trying to create a simple way for folks to
join the efforts towards an Lubuntu Manual.  In particular, if it is
package based and uses a script I wrote, I can almost certainly help
them out quite a bit if their initial setup fails -- I don't want to
create extra workload for the existing Ubuntu Manual team from newcomers
just getting started authoring/editing for Lubuntu.

Jonathan