Updating/improving the docs

[GnuPG - Dev mailing list]

Hi,

If you think that the GnuPG docs need to be updated or improved,
either in form or in content, consider participating to Google Season
of Docs:

"Season of Docs 2021 will allow open source organizations to apply for
a grant, based on their documentation needs. If selected, open source
organizations will use their grant to hire a technical writer directly
to complete their documentation project. Organizations will have up to
six months to complete their documentation project."

- https://developers.google.com/season-of-docs/docs/organization-application-hints
- https://developers.google.com/season-of-docs/docs/timeline

Technical writers don't have to be students (actually they are not
supposed to be students). If the project proposal is accepted, I would
be interested to work as a technical writer for this project. I would
enjoy improving the docs of GnuPG, and at the same time the stipend
would help me to survive.

Thanks,
Dashamir

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[Bernhard Reiter-7]

Hi Dashamir,

Am Montag 22 Februar 2021 17:03:40 schrieb Dashamir Hoxha via Gnupg-devel:
> If you think that the GnuPG docs need to be updated or improved,
> either in form or in content, consider participating to Google Season
> of Docs

thanks for the suggestion!

We do believe that docs should be better, but it is very unlikely
that we participate this particular funding program.

To explain: The GnuPG development team has a long standing tradition to not
advertise for Google by participating in their programs or by using their
services. They use some of their "programs" to also gain mindshare and place
themselfes in a good light.

Aren't there some useful things done by Google for Free Software and
cryptography? Yes, there are. This is a very large organisation and there are
nice groups and individuals inside it, with some friendly and interesting
technical projects. My scepticism is more about the course of the whole
company and how its long term business interests and accumulated powers are
contrary to a decentral, cooperating vision of information technology in the
world. (However this is just stating it superficially, here on this
mailinglist is not the right place to discuss in more detail, we'd be getting
off-topic. I'm just mentioning it to aid your understanding.)

Another difficulty with a project-based approach (that means goals and end and
limited resources) is that it is not what the GnuPG ecosystem needs most in
terms of improving the user experience. If we can avoid to write
documentation, we should. The approach of a minimal documenation (like
in the tradition of John M. Caroll) and the concept of self-explorability
and don't-make-me-think usability are (in my view) more suited to a modern set
of crypto based applications for end to end security.
Approaching this would mean long term engagement and funding if it is done by
professionals.

Best Regards,
Bernhard

--
www.intevation.de/~bernhard   [phone]
Intevation GmbH, Osnabrück, DE; Amtsgericht Osnabrück, HRB 18998
Geschäftsführer Frank Koormann, Bernhard Reiter, Dr. Jan-Oliver Wagner

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