[Zope3-dev] 10x growth for Zope? Never without docs

[Chris McDonough]

What folks need to understand is this.  Currently, ZC is like a guy
riding a bicycle on a tight wire.  If he stops pedaling in order to
add another seat to his bicycle (so he can have some company), he will
almost certainly fall over and hurt himself.

It is a rough business climate.  And unfortunately, you can't keep the
lights on by writing docs.  It is important that ZC keeps the lights
on.  This is not to say that ZC is floundering, we're busy and money
comes in and goes out.  But when it comes down to it, ZC alone cannot
afford to pay a developer's salary to just write docs.  And it's a
full-time job just to document the stuff that's already in use.

It's my hope that we'll get to the other end of the tightrope soon and
have the breathing room to begin to concentrate on growing the market
by writing docs.  Zope 3 also makes great use of interfaces as a
documentation tool, so documenting it won't be so painfully manual.

All this said, I agree wholly with the sentiment of your message.

- C

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jon Whitener" <wmmail@twmi.rr.com>
To: <Zope3-dev@zope.org>
Sent: Tuesday, October 29, 2002 11:27 AM
Subject: [Zope3-dev] 10x growth for Zope? Never without docs


> Upon noticing the stated desire to grow Zope usage "10x", I'm
compelled to chime in as a Zope newbie.  If Zope wants to grow ten
times, here's your solution:
>
>   DOCUMENTATION!
>
> Zope would enjoy astonishing growth if Zope development efforts were
sufficiently redirected into completing Zope documentation that is:
>  - current
>  - accurate
>  - accessible
>  - reliable
>  - comprehensible
>  - comprehensive
>
> If this were achieved, Zope would suddenly become a realistic option
for the multitudes of smaller Web production groups that make up the
majority of the Web development industry (like me, a group of one).
But before such an achievement, wide acceptance (or even
consideration) of Zope is impossible.
>
> The on-line Zope documentation is the first and often last place
people will investigate using Zope.  As that documentation exists now,
people can't be blamed for assuming Zope is a poorly-supported
programming experiment for Python hobbyists who enjoy figuring things
out on their own.
>
> I personally have committed to Zope, but I possess an uncommonly
stubborn determination to figure the dang thing out.  If you (Zope
Corp and friends) want to see Zope grow 1000%, you need to realize
that you've pretty much tapped out the population of Python
programmers out in the world who can read the source code for their
documentation.
>
> Now you need to concentrate on providing details about Zope for the
many more content-oriented Web site makers who are not and have not
full-time programmers / developers.  These potential users just want
to make Web sites.  Zope could enable that.  Zope cannot enable that
without good documentation.
>
> Users want to do nothing less than fritter away precious time on
documentation treasure-hunts.  The Zope Book?  What software would
anyone ever use where we go to the official doc thinking "Oh, no, I
really hope Chris McDonough had enough time to work on the ZPT chapter
some more!"  That's the whole problem in a nutshell.
>
> I know Zope could satisfy many people's needs if it was far less
mysterious.  If you want to see Zope gain much wider acceptance, you
first have to offer it FULLY: complex software without proper
documentation is an insult to users, potential and current.
>
> The people who could become a large part of Zope's user base want to
make Web sites, not play MYST.  I deeply hope the Zope Powers-That-Be
awaken to the seriousness of the lack of good documentation.
>
> Jon Whitener
> Detroit, MI, USA
>
>
> At 10/28/02 12:33 PM, in "Re: [Zope3-dev] [OT?] zope.org", Chris
Withers wrote:
> >[...] Unless ZC relinquish bottleneck control over zope.org, it
ain't gonna happen.
> >Given the current pathetic excuse of a site at zope.org (crap
searching, UI, outdates content, etc) we can hardly expect Zope to
grow at all, let alone the 10x promised last year.
> >[...]
>
>
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