At 02:18 PM 26-01-02 +0200, Arda Tunccekic wrote:

>First, do you think I'm right on the "Getting Started, bla bla.." guides?
>Do you agree?

Sure. But these things don't just "happen". If you go to the firebird-docs list and ask there, you'll find out what is going on and will no doubt find a way that you could contribute to the project.

>As you probably remember, some time ago, I reported some errors related with
>Firebird. My purpose was to inform Firebird developers. If I could write C
>code fluently, beleive me I could try to fix them. Again, I was trying to
>point out some thing that should be fixed. Maybe these were worthless
>infos.. I don't know.. I wish I was a C guru and I could do things in
>optimising, debugging Interbase. Because I'm not, I just reported some
>errors thinking that they might be useful.

Sure, not everyone is a C guru...but one doesn't have to be a C guru to write the kind of doc that you were stating **should** be available. Source code documentation is a different issue again.

>If my help would be accepted, of course I can try to do some work as my
>knowledge allows.

That is all that is required. The sum of all knowledge is increased by its parts, not by the number of gurus who can fit on the head of a pin. As an example, many have been helped by the ReallyUseful topics, some of which were beginners' accounts of their experiences of some aspect of working with the database. Often, the novice's account of "what finally worked for me" will address a problem directly, possibly even one which a gearhead cannot even comprehend.

>What I'm afraid of is, a guide that I write on topics I point at may be
>uncompleted or it may have grammer mistakes as English isn't my native
>language.

If we were concerned about grammar and spelling, we'd have NO documentation. Just write what you think is worth writing. Someone will fix the English if it needs fixing. Or write it in Turkish.

>Because I'm not sure about my knowledge yet, I didn't even attempt to take
>an active role on this project, but I mentioned about the topics that might
>be useful.

Then write an outline and post it in fb-docs. Write about what you know; place comments in the gaps where you know someone else needs to write something. Great oaks from little acorns grow.

>> We are all volunteers. We all have real jobs, research to do, children to
>feed, cars to fix, dogs to walk, gardens to dig, bathrooms to clean, beds to
>sleep in..... In an effort like ours, if you think something >> should <<
>be done and you are capable of doing it, then just do it...
>
>There's a saying that, "if you want something to be done, do it yourself" .
>I agree on this. But capabilities need to be considered here.

Sure; but not knowing EVERYTHING is not a reason for doing NOTHING. I've been writing about Firebird for some months now and I've learnt a lot that I didn't know when I started. If I get stuck on something, I chase around for existing documentation about it. I annoy people by asking a lot of questions. I experiment with things to see whether they work as I think they do (or should). I still don't know everything; I doubt that I ever will.

>Now I'm subscribed to firebird-website mailing list. What next?

You mentioned the reorganisation of the Novices material. Offer your recommendations. Offer to do the HTML. Offer what you can...

I'm not jabbing at you, specifically, Arda. This message is for everyone who knows something useful about using our database...share it!

regards,
Helen


All for Open and Open for All
Firebird Open SQL Database · http://firebirdsql.org
_______________________________________________________