Hi folks,
Let me introduce you to the Good Docs Project’ run by the GitLab community. The project was announced on 6 July 2023 at the GitLab blog. I was looking for fresh insights on how other Open Source Documentation projects thrive and get big.
Here are top take-aways to put to practice for the Fedora community.
I think this initiative could help the entire groups in Fedora, not just Docs team. GitLab’s approach goes beyond skill training. It is about changing culture. Bold face is to emphasize what we don’t have.
- Building templates for new articles: a way to overcome Writer’s block (when starting with a blank page, there is nothing in front of you). Templates designed to be used for non-writers and writers, and also for people who do not know Git at first. How you want to format it? Each Docs type has a template to work with.
- Automation of release notes publication
- Git training
- Tools and process training: Self-directed (Teach yourself) combined with guided mentorship
- How to run a test on documentation
- Doc tools registry
- New contributor onboarding
- The return-on-effort associated with different documentation strategies: This is a new concept and metric we could benefit from.
- Register for a Welcome Wagon meeting (30-minute orientation meeting):
– A brief overview of our project’s goals and mission.
– A bit of information about our community and reasons to consider joining.
– An overview of our key initiatives and working groups that you might consider contributing to.
– A chance to tell us your goals for contributing as well as your current skill/experience levels to see if we can find a working group and a good first task for you.
If you’re intrigued, check this video interview from the GitLab Open Source Partners.
