From owner-freebsd-doc Sun Jan 7 21:31:18 1996 Return-Path: owner-doc Received: (from root@localhost) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.7.3/8.7.3) id VAA14063 for doc-outgoing; Sun, 7 Jan 1996 21:31:18 -0800 (PST) Received: from time.cdrom.com (time.cdrom.com [192.216.222.226]) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.7.3/8.7.3) with SMTP id VAA14058 for ; Sun, 7 Jan 1996 21:31:15 -0800 (PST) Received: from localhost (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by time.cdrom.com (8.6.12/8.6.9) with SMTP id VAA21954; Sun, 7 Jan 1996 21:30:51 -0800 To: Jake Hamby cc: doc@freebsd.org Subject: Re: How do folks feel about legitimizing the `style split' in our docs? In-reply-to: Your message of "Sun, 07 Jan 1996 21:17:28 PST." Date: Sun, 07 Jan 1996 21:30:51 -0800 Message-ID: <21952.821079051@time.cdrom.com> From: "Jordan K. Hubbard" Sender: owner-doc@freebsd.org Precedence: bulk > Sounds like a good idea. I have two comments, though: First, I think > that the Handbook SHOULD be split in the sense that the first section > NEEDS to be focused for new users (assuming a mixture of readership > between people new to Unix and experienced Unix admins new to FreeBSD). Well, I still don't see that as grounds for a "split" so much as a "beginner's section." I agree that the new users definitely need a blinking neon arrow pointing at *some* section of the handbook. > Second, some chapters are difficult to split in this way. Take "my" > chapter, on Kernel Configuration (btw, John, I reread that for the first OK, so I see that the paradigm breaks down for a few sections. Perhaps that simply points to the need for a (gag-inducing word coming up) meta-paradigm! :-) In english, what I'm saying is that perhaps we should extend the concept of howto/expert level documentation up one level then so that the novice users never even *see* your Kernel configuration document unless they follow a link that leads them over to the `How it works' section material. I mean, we've got this fancy SGML thingie, can't we make several `virtual documents' from the same source material? Why should we confine ourselves to one "top level representation" of The Handbook? Jordan