[kde-doc-english] Wiki-like khelp system

[Adrian Jadic]

On Monday 23 October 2006 08:07, Rinse De Vries wrote:
> Thus kde systems that are not connected to the Internet won't ship with any
> documentation at all. Which would be a bad thing

I would like to discuss a little bit about this statement which in a form or 
another has been brought up by other people too.

First, Nobody says that the current system cannot remain in place and have two 
systems working in parallel and complementing each other.

Second, I really doubt that there should be a concern about Linux users 
without internet access. I personally do not believe they exist and if they 
do exist they must be a small minority. Linux is by definition a product of 
the internet and most distributions are only downloadable and upgradable 
through the internet.
If there are desktop users without internet then they are most probably using 
Windows. Why would someone without internet need to use 
Linux? ...Games? ...Taxes? ...Office? Windows has a much better supply of 
software in these domains. Plus most of the times one can't even configure  a 
Linux system if he/she does not access some forums or Google. 
In conclusion, I don't think Internet access is an issue.

The whole point of the wiki would be to have a centralised place where people 
using KDE could EASILY contribute to the community. To me, it is clear that 
KDE-docs cannot keep the pace with the new features of the apps simply 
because it is labor intensive and only a few can actually create docbook 
pages. Plus, every day new apps appear while others become obsolete.

I started using Linux (SUSE) in Jan 2004. I had enormous trouble finding my 
way through it and many times I had the impulse of reverting back because 
nothing was working. Nobody told me about things like libdvdcss, or 
w32codecs. SUSE had it's own manual which was just repeating the same things 
about make and make install but nobody was telling me why my USB Audio was 
not autodetected or how to send a FAX through my linux machine.

Now I moved to Kubuntu and a Wiki is exactly what Kubuntu has and makes the 
life a lot easier to every beginner because things are spelled out in clear 
and get updated as soon as a new release is out. I think KDE should work the 
same way and we should be opened enough to new ideas to at least try them.
Will it be the perfect solution? ..maybe not. Someone said something about 
localization. I say that Wiki pages can be created in the different languages 
faster than docbook ones.

Once the content is entered in the wiki by the different contributors then the 
kde-doc people could turn it into docbook and have it available also to 
offline users. But the LARGE MAJORITY will have the LATEST info right at 
their fingertips in the WIki. 
===Which would be a good thing====

Cheers, 
Adrian