Self-Introduction: Cody DeHaan

[Paul W. Frields]

On Mon, 2006-02-06 at 06:08 -0600, Cody DeHaan wrote: 
> Thank you Karsten for the welcome. I am sure that once I become more
> familiar with the things that are being worked on that I will come up
> with some ideas on my own, but at this time I would welcome
> suggestions on anything that needs some work.
> 
> I look forward to helping the project out.
> 
> Thank you!

Hi Cody,

Might I suggest you visit:

  http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Docs/Drafts/DesktopUserGuide

If you are comfortable doing some editing, try revising the style of
this guide.  Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is as
follows:

1.  Fix the style of the existing text.  Eliminate passive voice
wherever possible.  Avoid colloquialism and conversational tone.  Make
sentences concise so other volunteers can translate the text easily.
In short, follow the style guidelines in the current Documentation Guide
-- although these are soon to be rewritten, they are useful as is for
now.

EXAMPLE (first sentence):
This guide has been written for individuals wishing to become oriented
with Fedora Core's default desktop environment, to accomplish normal
tasks, and to customize the environment according to their preferences.

REWRITE:  This guide helps you understand Fedora Core's default desktop
environment, accomplish normal tasks, and customize the environment
according to your preferences.

Note how the rewrite uses active voice, reduces the length from 30 words
to 21 words (a 30% drop!), and is generally clearer.

2.  Add content where noted by the other author(s).  I see several
"FIXME" areas that need attention, and in general this guide needs more
content.  What's there is a great start, but brainstorm other material
that might reasonably fit into this guide's goals.  Where possible, try
not to conflict with the goals of the other guides being drafted.
	Don't be afraid to write directly into the Wiki.  If you don't have
edit privileges there, let a contributor know through this list or IRC
#fedora-docs, and we'll be happy to add you in.

3.  Keep the audience in mind.  Since this guide is a very gentle doc
for rank newbies, you should give clear instructions with little or no
jargon.  Use clear terms like "From the Main Menu, select Applications,
System Tools, File Browser," or "Click the right mouse button on any
empty area of the Desktop."

Have fun and feel free to ask questions here or in IRC.  Here you're
virtually guaranteed an answer; many people camp in IRC to log the
conversations for later review, but aren't necessarily "present."  If
there's anything you don't understand, we are here to help.

-- 
Paul W. Frields, RHCE                          http://paul.frields.org/
  gpg fingerprint: 3DA6 A0AC 6D58 FEC4 0233  5906 ACDB C937 BD11 3717
 Fedora Documentation Project: http://fedora.redhat.com/projects/docs/
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