Re: Is there a need for a hard copy OpenBSD documentation project?

[Nick Holland <nhollan@home.com>]

I'm seconding STeve's sentiments.

The stuff we (I?) need to read the most are the changes.  Standard
system administration is covered in piles of books already in print --
what we need that is OpenBSD specific changes faster than one could
ever go through a formal printing process on.  The normal
writing/publishing/distributing/aquiring cycle is just too long to
cover the specifics. Just look how much changed between the time the
2.7 CD was finalized and the time we who pre-ordered got it in our
hands.  Reminds me of those classes back in school when the prof would
hand out the syllabus and says "and if you will note, you are already
three chapters behind in your reading".  There is no way traditional
printing can keep up with open source software projects, other than
the way the shoddy Linux books do ("This book includes a CD.  It is
kinda accurate to what is on the CD (more or less).  The contents of
the CD are a year old.  Enjoy.  We appreciate your money")

In spite of excellent, high-resolution monitors and good eyes, I do
prefer looking through many things on paper, but I resign myself to
printing them myself.  I've got an old LaserJet IIID which I fire up
in duplexing mode regularly to save the trees I can, and a tractor
feed printer I use for program listings or plain-text documentation
(perhaps it is my age, but I like tractor-feed fan-fold paper for
listings or other plain text stuff...and the dots just seem to help me
"get in the mood" 8)

I absolutely hate Adobe Acrobat "Reader".  I seem to spend more time
positioning the document on the screen than I do reading, then get
frustrated and just send it off to the IIID, then feel guilty about
all the trees that went into this idiotic document which I needed two
pages of but couldn't make sense of on the screen.  What that
statement has to do with the subject at hand, I have no idea.  Just
venting (well, that and I have to figure out Checkpoint-1 for a
client.  $5000 piece of software, all the docs are apparently in PDF
files.  I'm NOT pleased.  I *TOLD* them to use me to design and set up
the system.  I *TOLD* them to use OpenBSD.  But NOOOOooo...$5000 in
software, probably $5000 in excess hardware, and a crooked and
incompetent installer later, I'm back and billing them to learn a
bunch of overpriced products I won't in good faith ever install
myself.  Idiots.)

Nick.



Luke Seubert wrote:
> 
> I am interested in hard copy documentation for OpenBSD, and would like to
> know if other folks share this interest.
> 
> I read through FAQ 2.3 and have a pretty good idea how to go about printing
> out the hard copy of all the text, man pages, docs, etc. that come with the
> CD. If I or anybody else wants their own personal hardcopy documentation,
> well, it is definitely doable, albeit perhaps time consuming and
> inconvenient.
> 
> However, this got me to thinking.  Has the OpenBSD project ever thought
> about publishing their documentation in a convenient hard copy format, or
> even writing some sort of manual?  A quick search of the advocacy, misc, and
> tech mailing list archives revealed that somebody was pondering writing a
> SysAdmin manual back in 1998.  I have not been able to discover anything
> else however.
> 
> Let me ask this question of the OpenBSD developers, supporters, and users:
> Does anybody see a strong need to create a hard copy documentation project?
> Do most people find the e-documentation to be sufficient?  Or are there a
> lot of folks like me who are a bit rustic and prefer something on plain old
> paper?
> 
> Please share your thoughts on this.
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> --
> 
> Luke Seubert

-- 
http://www.holland-consulting.net/