[Zope] reality check

Rik Hoekstra hoekstra@fsw.leidenuniv.nl
Fri, 10 Dec 1999 21:26:19 +0100


Ok, that's it. Two points (ok I'm grumpy tonight)

1) I can't believe docs are really an issue with anyone. <whining 
mode> Let me take myself as an example (yes this is whining!). I have 
squeezed out three drafts of a chapter for ZBook called changing 
context in Zope. They  were almost completely made up of examples. 
I got exactly one (1)  response to the first draft from anyone either 
on the ZDP list or elsewhere (thanks Patrick). 

Now, it may well be they are completely worthless or off target, but 
then please say so, so I can save myself the trouble. 

Say anything. I asked for feedback repeatedly. It is not exactly 
motivating to write documentation if there is no feedback at all. 
That makes it appear as though there is no need for documentation - 
or did I get this wrong.

This also what Open Source is about as far as I'm concerned- _co_ 
operation</whining mode>

Moreover, there still is no real policy of DC towards the ZDP 
documentation. We asked for that repeatedly on the list. For want of 
a reply, the ZDP group assumed we would have to write everything 
ourselves as if there were no documentation effort by DC. Do we have 
to conclude from this that documentation is not their agenda? 

2) The existing documents are not exactly good. But I'm no programmer 
by trade or by education, in fact I'm from a humanities background. 
Nevertheless, I picked Zope up in about a month or so after it first 
came out (ok I did have Python experience, but documentation then was 
worse than now and there was hardly any assistence available like the 
list does provides). Now, this either means that I am very smart 
(compliments accepted) or people who claim to have years of computer 
science background and are able pick up all sorts of other things are 
doing something very wrong

Ah, that feels better

provocative-on-purposely-yours

Rik