[OpenIndiana-discuss] OpenIndiana Docs (proof of concept) - What is it all about?

Wed May 4 14:01:39 UTC 2016

Hello,

Too many times there have been devastating discussions about getting Firefox
> ready on OI and if or not one should bake pizza's to create the code. While
> on the other hand updates for every day used server programs are not
> available.
>

This is the case if you use 151a which has been unmaintained for a while
due to lack of interest and consequently contributions.

> For server usage in a professional way OI is lacking more and more security
> updates, only if you use the hipster or hipster2 or no wait the
> hipster-hipster version. (I lost track of it)
>

Hipster being advertised as rolling-release, it is what it is...

> I have long tried to use OI as a professional server but in December I
> installed SmartOS and I went from hell to heaven.
> I went from 7 days half-baked "make" "configure" "install" search and
> destroy deployment nightmares to 15 minutes deployment.
>

If you use an unmaintained version and compile all your software, hell
should be expected indeed. ;)

>
> There is only one big problem with SmartOS and that it has opensource
> sourced by a commercial company. So there can always be a point in time
> where the opensource will be closed or unreachable.
> But at this moment Joyent flows there advantages back to the Illumos core.
> (http://mail-index.netbsd.org/pkgsrc-users/2016/04/29/msg023314.html) so
> even OI should benefit from it.
>
> So IMHO someone (preferable more than one) should build the bridge between
> documentation scattered over illumos, solaris, smartos and Openindiana
> websites and creators.
>
> This is my opinion, no insults intended.
>

There are known reasons behind the current situation and the existence of
Hipster which I am not going to develop again but the bottom line is that
Hipster is an attempt to overcome several difficulties.
The rolling-release model may not suit everyone, this is a necessary step
to adapt development of OI to the reality of existing manpower and try to
regain momentum.

Regarding the documentation, Michael's initiative is a good way to
encourage collaboration since it is based on source files under revision
control system, unlike a Wiki.
So basically this may be one good candidate for building up a common
resource.

>
> Br,
>
> Roel
>
> -----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
> Van: Michael Kruger [mailto:makruger2000 at gmail.com]
> Verzonden: woensdag 4 mei 2016 7:00
> Aan: OpenIndiana Developer mailing list <oi-dev at openindiana.org>;
> Discussion
> list for OpenIndiana <openindiana-discuss at openindiana.org>
> Onderwerp: [OpenIndiana-discuss] OpenIndiana Docs (proof of concept) - What
> is it all about?
>
> Now that the dust has settled a little bit after my initial presentation,
> perhaps I should elaborate a bit about my motivations and intentions in
> creating this little proof of concept.
>
> In the responses and discussions that followed, some feathers were ruffled,
> and a number of points where raised, many of which could be distilled into
> at least 3 distinct themes.
>
> I'll start by talking about the first theme as everything else hinges upon
> it.
>
>
> * Community conduct
> * Project visibility
> * Proof of concepts
>
> * Version control
> * Hosting infrastructure
> * Project marketing, SEO
>
> * Existing docs (OSOL Docs)
> * Viability/Usability of Wiki
> * dlc.openindiana.org/docs
> * Documentation Standards (media types, etc.)
> * Licensing/Contributer agreements/copyrights, branding etc.
>
>
> It's now been about 3 months since I volunteered to help the project
> with documentation. I have learned quite a bit and overall it's been
> very interesting. I chose this project because it was very small, needed
> people, and I thought I might be able to make a meaningful difference. I
> still believe that.
>
> So, this is my creative outlet. This is a place where I can express
> myself, learn, try new things, and explore new ideas. It's a place where
> I can (hopefully) make a difference.
>
> Having a creative outlet is very important to me, because in my day job
> I work for a government bureaucracy. There each department is it's own
> little kingdom where nobody shares information or works together. As a
> result, innovation is stifled and dysfunction is pervasive. Even worse,
> most people are unhappy, and everyone complains. But the money is good
> and my commute is very short, so I put up with it all.
>
> Here however, we're all volunteering our time. So I think having an
> atmosphere of acceptance, civility, and respect is extremely important.
> If not, the project will eventually curl up and die.
>
> However, before any of that happens, people may find themselves needing
> to work alone or in small groups specifically and intentionally
> excluding individuals with problematic behaviors. This will occur
> because it's simply not possible to get anything done in an atmosphere
> of hostility, jumping to premature conclusions, or where kvetching is
> the rule of the day.
>
> This leads me to suggest there should be an OpenIndiana 'Code of
> Conduct' to help reign in people with troublesome behaviors. After all,
> such individuals effectively prevent others from achieving anything
> meaningful. The future of the project may very well depend on it.
>
> Having said all of that, let me turn the discussion back to my little
> docs website proof of concept. For starters, it's not a submarine
> project, nor do I intend to apply any kind of licensing which may
> restrict it's reuse in any way. Frankly I could care less how it's
> licensed. I wrote it all for the pure joy of writing. And in the spirit
> of community, it's free and available to all.
>
> As for how it evolved the way it did, there are a number of reasons.
>
> As soon as I joined the project I began looking at the OSOL docs, the
> website, and the wiki, and took notes of my thoughts and observations
> along the way. Those notes are publicly available for anyone to see:
>
> https://github.com/makruger/openindiana-docs
>
> The README describes what's in each document. This is all public and has
> been for quite some time. Again, not a submarine project at all.
>
> So, after looking at the current state of information management,
> several things became clear.
>
> There needed to be a way to:
>
> 1) Place documentation under distributed version control.
> 2) Lower the bar of entry to the documentation process.
> 3) Make changes and quickly deploy those changes in some kind of
> automated fashion (e.g. continuous integration).
> 4) Present the documentation in an organized and aesthetically pleasing
> way.
>
> It's been said that a project lives or dies by it's documentation.
> Whether that's really true or not, I don't know, but the general
> perception for OpenIndiana is it's largely an undocumented project.
>
> The need is there, now it's just a matter of coming up with a workable
> method for addressing the need. Good docs are important. Just as
> important is way the documentation is organized and presented.
>
> This leads me to state the obvious:
>
> The current state of the wiki is quite poor. The content is poorly
> organized, largely outdated, and the navigation menus do not function at
> all on mobile devices (this included tablets). This is a real problem,
> especially if the project expects people to rely on the Wiki as the "go
> to" source of information about the OpenIndiana project.
>
> I can only conclude by saying this is quite unacceptable and something
> better is required. Whether that something better is my little project,
> or something else entirely, that's for the community to decide.
>
> My proposal is on the table and I can only expect it to be fairly judged
> on it's technical merits. It should not however be frontally assaulted
> because it differs from the way things have always been done.
>
> Michael
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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>
>
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