[kde-doc-english] KDE: Documentation (Quanta, Konqueror, others)

[J. S.]

Hi Lauri,

Thank you for your involvement with KDE! It's a really great desktop 
environment, and I'm pleased to have the opportunity to communicate with 
you as a representative of KDE development.

I've been using GNU/Linux -> Fedora Core 5 since late May of this year. 
I started out w/ Gnome, as one unknowing would do, considering it's 
simply the way the FC5 installer is setup. Fortunately for me, I opted 
to install both KDE and Gnome, and finally ventured into experimentation 
with KDE a few weeks into my trials with Linux / Fedora. A bit 
unimpressed, if not frustrated with the way Gnome manages the 
environment-- in particular the File Management through "Nautilus" 
(primarily in that, while navigating through the Filesystem, every new 
folder selection actually opens a /new /window, resulting in multiple 
windows cluttering the Desktop), I was ecstatic to find that KDE is 
remarkably more user-friendly than Gnome, specifically Konqueror's 
seamless integration with the O/S as File Manager / multi-purpose user/ 
system interface, intuitive in application while remaining familiar 
enough for me as a Windows XPatrtiot that I found myself becoming 
comfortable with my new O/S more rapidly, and with greater confidence. 
(blah, blah...)

Anyway-- I'm contacting you about my interest in helping to author, or 
edit, KDE User Manual / Web-accessible documentation or, in general, any 
written material needed by KDE development. I first recognized, with all 
due respect and understanding, the apparent deficiency in authorship 
while reading some of the Quanta Plus docs. While the practical is 
basically served, the text tends to be incomplete, or even not well 
formatted at times. I'm confident that I could take the existing 
documentation, rewrite those sections for which I have sufficient 
knowledge to amend any errors, and even venture to author that essential 
material which might have yet to be documented at all.

My education background is in English, as I hold a degree in Secondary 
Curriculum and Instruction: English (i.e. he's supposed to be a school 
teacher, but decided to be a hobbyist programmer/ performing musician 
instead-- as anyone w/ half-a-brain should agree is the more adventurous 
course for a free-thinker...hehe). I consider myself to be knowledgeable 
about "computers", although I do not have any formal training. My most 
relevant position held would have been as Web / Database developer for 
Penn State University's College of Science Education (note my name: 
http://csats.psu.edu/directory.htm ).

I'd love to help if i can, but I'm afraid I don't know where to begin. 
My best efforts-- and KDE's most rapid benefit, would probably result if 
i were to take existing documentation and edit it for a more 
reader-friendly purpose-- even doc. yet to be published in any form. In 
general, anything that which needs editing.  I'm want to help KDE  
Documentation team as much as I am able, however my general Users' 
knowledge of the material should be considered. If I were more of an 
expert, I'd offer to author material, but i'm afraid I might not be 
qualified for that particular task. If any developers record their 
documentation in voice rather than written, I'm willing to transcribe 
audio to written docs as well.

I look forward to hearing from you. For a sample of my writing, you 
might reference NoviceNotes.net -- a web log I author. The blog is 
nothing spectacular, but I consider it to be a fair reflection of my 
work (sans spelling and grammatical errors which may or may not be 
present there).

Regards,
Jeffrey Sabarese
State College, PA, USA
http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreysabarese
-- 
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Centre Web Design thanks you for your business 
<http://www.centrewebdesign.com/>
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