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This team is now deprecated. Official announcement about the team's closure can be found here.

	Main
	Beginners Team Home Join Us Mission Statement Meetings */

	Areas of the Community
	User Support Documentation Bugs Development

	Other
	Beginners Team IRC Team Structure Team Reports */

Ubuntu Help and Support IRC Channel: #ubuntu-beginners on irc.freenode.net

Community and Team IRC Channel: #ubuntu-beginners-team on irc.freenode.net

Path: Documentation

About Us

Contents

About Us
Getting Started
1. Documentation Teams Structure
Editing the Wiki
1. Guidelines and Common Practices Editing the Wiki
2. Recommended Readings for Ubuntu Documentation Wiki Administrators
Suggested Reading - Style Guide
1. Questions? Contact the Beginners Team or the Cocumentation team
2. Past Efforts by BT to help as a team with wiki documentation

The Documentation Path gets you get started helping with the Ubuntu Dcumentation We are here just to guide you and answer questions. The team that does the actual work is the Documentation Team This team works on both the Community Wiki and the System Documentation.

There are three main areas of documentation, the two main wikis and the system documentation:

Help.Ubuntu/Community - The main community wiki for help documents for Ubuntu.
Ubuntu Wiki - This wiki is now used for organizational work, proposals and all materials not belonging to main wiki. Usually this is stuff associated with community teams, but not exclusively
System Documentation - This is the documentation that comes with Ubuntu, information on it can be found at the link. It's no more involved than doing work on the wiki, don't let the name scare you.

Getting Started

The DocumentationTeam takes care of two main different types of documentation, the documentation wiki and the system documentation that ships with each version of *buntu.

Documentation Teams Structure

Ubuntu Documentation Contributors. This is an open team, much like the Beginners Team, which anyone interested in helping with Ubuntu documentation can join to show their interest. Feel free to join this team and learn how to contribute from the DocumentationTeam page. Members of this team frequently:
- Edit Ubuntu Documentation Wiki pages.
- Report bugs via Launchpad to the Ubuntu system documentation.
- Contribute patches to system documentation through Launchpad and Bazaar.
- Participate on the Ubuntu-doc mailing list and/or in the #ubuntu-doc IRC channel.
Ubuntu Documentation Committers. This team has write access to the official system documentation branches. Write access to these branches is restricted because this is the documentation that is included directly with every Ubuntu system. A system of quality control and review is therefore required.
Ubuntu Documentation Wiki Administrators. Members of this team have permission to delete or rename wiki pages. This is a restricted action on the help wiki, because the renaming or deletion of wiki pages can often cause unintended problems. This is explained in the relevant section of the Wiki Guide.

Contact Us:
To send an email to the Documentation Team Mailing list - [email protected]. To subscribe to the Doc Team list visit http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-doc. The list archive is at http://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-doc/. To send an email to the Beginners Team [email protected] -To subscribe to the Beginners Team list visit mailing list.

Editing the Wiki

A launchpad account is required, this will be used to sign in on both wikis to edit. This mandatory registration allows tracking and prevents malicious edits. Launchpad itself has many other uses associated with contributing to the community you can discover on your own.
- Note - Ensure you have cookies enabled, so your login is stored.
Once signed in, go to either of the two wikis above and click Log In at the top. You will be prompted to authenticate via launchpad, proceed and your done. You can now make edits to the wikis.
Once logged into the Main Community Wiki, you'll notice a small bar at the bottom. This is the edit bar, it holds many options for manipulating pages. Explore and test them out while being careful not to do anything undesirable to pages.

Guidelines and Common Practices Editing the Wiki

Now that your set up to edit, it's important to know what to do. The wiki uses markup, to manipulate the text. Markup is a simple collection of special characters used to instruct the wiki system how to format pages. This allows for bold text or underlining to occur or something more complex like creating tables. Here ae some good resources, help on editing and [[https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HelpOnMoinWikiSyntax | help on Moin wiki syntax.

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-<<Include(BeginnersTeam/FocusGroups/Docs/Includes/Bulletin)>>
+<<Include(BeginnersTeam/Includes/Bulletin)>>
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-{{https://launchpad.net/@@/person}} '''Focus Group''': Documentation<<BR>>
{{https://launchpad.net/favicon.ico}} '''Launchpad''': LaunchpadHome:ubuntu-beginners-wiki <<BR>>
{{https://launchpad.net/@@/mail}} '''Email''': [[http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/Ubuntu-beginners |Ubuntu-beginners]]<<BR>>
+{{https://launchpad.net/@@/person}} '''Path''': Documentation<<BR>>
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-The '''Documentation Focus Group''' is for Beginners Team Members and Apprentices who want to help update and maintain the documentation for Ubuntu.
+The '''Documentation Path''' gets you get started helping with the Ubuntu Dcumentation
We are here just to guide you and answer questions. The team that does the actual work is the [[https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DocumentationTeam|Documentation Team]] This team works on both the Community Wiki and the System Documentation.
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-This focus group works as part of the [[https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DocumentationTeam|Documentation Team]] contributing towards their efforts on both the Community Wiki and the System Documentation. This can get confusing, but shouldn't. To be clear, the Documentation Team isn't part of the Beginners Team, but we are a group that associates with them for convenience so that we can coordinate efforts and prevent duplication. 

There are three main areas, the two main wikis and the system documentation:
+There are three main areas of documentation, the two main wikis and the system documentation:
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- * [[https://wiki.ubuntu.com|Ubuntu Wiki]] - This wiki is now used for organizational work, proposals and all materials not belonging to main wiki.
+ * [[https://wiki.ubuntu.com|Ubuntu Wiki]] - This wiki is now used for organizational work, proposals and all materials not belonging to main wiki. Usually this is stuff associated with community teams, but not exclusively
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-Please see '''[[https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BeginnersTeam/FocusGroups/Wiki#New%20Users|New Users]]''' section for a list of resources and steps to getting started.
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-= Current Tasks =
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-We are working on the Community Docs with the following goals:
 1. Keep track of your work on [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Beginners/Development]]. 
 1. Use the [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Tag| Tag]] functionality throughout the community docs to mark pages that need attention.
  1. Work on improving the tagged pages, specifically for [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Tag/NeedsExpansion/List|Needs Expansion]], [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Tag/ContentCleanup/List|Content Cleanup]], [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Tag/StyleCleanup/List|Style Cleanup]], and [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Tag/TooLong/List|Page Too Long]].
  1. The [[https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DocumentationTeam/WikiCleanup|Wiki Cleanup]] offers good advice on cleaning up common problems.
 1. [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/OrphanedPages|Orphaned Pages]] - These are pages with nothing linking to them.  Help them find friends!  Tag and update as needed.
 1. Other Wiki tasks listed at [[DocumentationTeam/Wiki/Tasks]]
 1. As an aside for those interested, work on [[https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ubuntu-docs|System Documentation bugs]]
  1. See [[DocumentationTeam/SystemDocumentation]] for more information on how.
 1. Bear in mind that we need to update/change all GeoCites links since they are now all deleted. 
 1. New LTS release, updates on Ubuntu (Unity) Kubuntu, Xubuntu and Lubuntu, keyboard shortcuts etc.
+= Getting Started =

The DocumentationTeam takes care of two main different types of documentation, the [[DocumentationTeam/Wiki|documentation wiki]] and the [[DocumentationTeam/SystemDocumentation|system documentation]] that ships with each version of *buntu.

== Documentation Teams Structure ==

 1. '''[[https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-doc-contributors|Ubuntu Documentation Contributors]]'''. This is an open team, much like the Beginners Team,  which anyone interested in helping with Ubuntu documentation can join to show their interest. Feel free to join this team and learn how to contribute from the DocumentationTeam page. Members of this team frequently:
  * Edit Ubuntu Documentation Wiki pages.
  * Report bugs via Launchpad to the Ubuntu system documentation.
  * Contribute patches to system documentation through Launchpad and Bazaar.
  * Participate on the Ubuntu-doc mailing list and/or in the #ubuntu-doc IRC channel.

 1. '''[[https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-core-doc|Ubuntu Documentation Committers]]'''. This team has write access to the official system documentation branches. Write access to these branches is restricted because this is the documentation that is included directly with every Ubuntu system. A system of quality control and review is therefore required.

 1. '''[[https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-doc-wiki-admins|Ubuntu Documentation Wiki Administrators]]'''. Members of this team have permission to delete or rename wiki pages. This is a restricted action on the help wiki, because the renaming or deletion of wiki pages can often cause unintended problems. This is explained in the [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WikiGuide/DeletingAndRenaming|relevant section of the Wiki Guide]].

'''Contact Us:''' <<BR>>
To send an email to the Documentation Team Mailing list -  [email protected]. To subscribe to the Doc Team list visit http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-doc. The list archive is at http://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-doc/.
To send an email to the Beginners Team  [email protected] -To subscribe to the Beginners Team list visit [[https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-beginners | mailing list]].

= Editing the Wiki =
 * A [[https://launchpad.net|launchpad]] account is required, this will be used to sign in on both wikis to edit. This mandatory registration allows tracking and prevents malicious edits. Launchpad itself has many other uses associated with contributing to the community you can discover on your own.
  * '''Note''' - Ensure you have cookies enabled, so your login is stored.
 * Once signed in, go to either of the two wikis above and click '''Log In''' at the top. You will be prompted to authenticate via launchpad, proceed and your done. You can now make edits to the wikis.
 * Once logged into the [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/|Main Community Wiki]], you'll notice a small bar at the bottom. This is the edit bar, it holds many options for manipulating pages. Explore and test them out while being careful not to do anything undesirable to pages.

== Guidelines and Common Practices Editing the Wiki ==
Now that your set up to edit, it's important to know what to do. The wiki uses markup, to manipulate the text. Markup is a simple collection of special characters used to instruct the wiki system how to format pages. This allows for '''bold text''' or __underlining__ to occur or something more complex like creating tables. Here ae some good resources, [[https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HelpOnEditing | help on editing]] and [[https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HelpOnMoinWikiSyntax | help on Moin wiki syntax.

== Recommended Readings for Ubuntu Documentation Wiki Administrators ==

For membership of this team, we ask that applicants to join have:

  * read the [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WikiGuide|Wiki Guide]].
  * made significant contributions to the help wiki by way of edits to pages.
  * demonstrated an understanding of the issues that can arise from deleting and renaming pages, and how to avoid them.

= Suggested Reading - Style Guide =

All the team's work is subject to our [[/StyleGuide|Style Guide]].

== Questions? Contact the Beginners Team or the Cocumentation team ==

To send an email to the Beginners Team click here: [email protected]
Documentation Mailing List click here: [email protected].

== Past Efforts by BT to help as a team with wiki documentation ==
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-= Meetings =
Meetings should be scheduled at least a week in advance, they will be announced to the Beginners Team mailing list, so make sure your signed up. They can also be found on the [[BeginnersTeam/Meetings#Focus%20Group%20Meetings|Team Meetings]] page.
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-Meetings are held in the Beginners Team IRC channel - '''{{https://launchpad.net/@@/language}} [[irc://irc.freenode.org/ubuntu-beginners-team|#ubuntu-beginners-team]]''' on '''irc.freenode.net''' 

== Meeting Agenda ==
||<rowstyle="background:#DFDFC3">Who||What||
## || [[UndiFineD]] || New members ||
|| [[UndiFineD]] || tag pages ||
|| [[UndiFineD]] || Style guide ||
|| [[UndiFineD]] || Mallard ||
|| [[UndiFineD]] || help.ubuntu.com ||
|| [[UndiFineD]] || Ubuntu Manual ||
|| [[UndiFineD]] || [[/SoD2011|Summer of Documentation 2011]] Project ||
|| [[UndiFineD]] || Any Other Business ||

== Agenda Links and Notes ==

= New Users =
The focus groups leadership and membership is as follows: <<BR>>

'''Lead:''' TBD <<BR>>
'''Co-Lead:''' TBD <<BR>>
'''Members:''' [[https://edge.launchpad.net/~ubuntu-beginners-wiki|Team Members]]

Feel free to contact any of the above on IRC with questions regarding team related projects. Talk to the lead, [[UndiFineD]] if you would like to join the Wiki FG. Note that there are several steps to join, if you're confused or unsure at any step don't be shy. We are here to help.

'''Contact Us:''' <<BR>>
The best way to reach any one of us is to contact us via [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/InternetRelayChat|IRC]]. Join the irc.freenode.net server. You'll most likely find any one of us in our team channel '''{{https://launchpad.net/@@/language}} [[irc://irc.freenode.org/ubuntu-beginners-wiki|#ubuntu-beginners-wiki]]''' but we also hang out either in the '''{{https://launchpad.net/@@/language}} [[irc://irc.freenode.org/ubuntu-beginners-|#ubuntu-beginners]]''' (Beginners Team main channel) or '''{{https://launchpad.net/@@/language}} [[irc://irc.freenode.org/ubuntu-doc|#ubuntu-doc]]''' (Official Doc Team) channels. Relevant stuff can also be brought up on either the BT or Doc mail list.

== Required and Recommended Reading ==
To get a good grasp of what we do, please '''CAREFULLY READ''' through the following documents in order and ask anyone on the team if you have any questions. Note, these link only to the top level page, there are numerous sub pages that you should also read and understand. These pages are:

'''Required'''
 1. [[DocumentationTeam|Doc Team Home]]
 1. [[DocumentationTeam/Mentoring|Mentoring for New Members]]
 1. [[DocumentationTeam/Organization|Team Organization]]
 1. [[DocumentationTeam/Wiki|Introduction to Wiki]]

'''Recommended'''
  1. [[DocumentationTeam/SystemDocumentation|System Documentation]]
  1. [[DocumentationTeam/Translation|Document Translation]]

== Joining the Teams ==
To join this focus group, please talk to the lead/co-lead first. Once they have been notified, they will contact you and start the process of joining the Documentation FG. You should already be signed up to the [[https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-beginners|BT mail list]] as part of joining the main Beginners team.

Joining the documentation team is also easy and done in two steps. 
 * Join the [[https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-doc-contributors|Ubuntu Documentation Contributors Launchpad team]]
  * If you don't have a launchpad account, see the editing section below.
 * Join the [[https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-doc|Documentation Team mailing list]]
  * Send an email to the mailing list introducing yourself to the team.

Hanging out in our two main IRC channels is strongly encouraged and will help you get to know the team, and get quick answers to question as you get started.

= Editing the Wiki =
 * A [[https://launchpad.net|launchpad]] account is required, this will be used to sign in on both wikis to edit. This mandatory registration allows tracking and prevents malicious edits. Launchpad itself has many other uses associated with contributing to the community you can discover on your own.
  * '''Note''' - Ensure you have cookies enabled, so your login is stored.
 * Once signed in, go to either of the two wikis above and click '''Log In''' at the top. You will be prompted to authenticate via launchpad, proceed and your done. You can now make edits to the wikis.
 * Once logged into the [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/|Main Community Wiki]], you'll notice a small bar at the bottom. This is the edit bar, it holds many options for manipulating pages. Explore and test them out while being careful not to do anything undesirable to pages.

== Guidelines and Common Practices ==
Now that your set up to edit, it's important to know what to do. The wiki uses markup, to manipulate the text. Markup is a simple collection of special characters used to instruct the wiki system how to format pages. This allows for '''bold text''' or __underlining__ to occur or something more complex like creating tables.

'''Required Reading:'''
 * [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WikiGuide|Wiki Guide]] - A set of pages explaining markup and general formatting, read all of them thoroughly.
  * [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WikiGuide/Formatting|Formatting Guide]] - Pay special attention to this page, it and it's [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WikiGuide/Formatting#Page%20Editing|sub pages]] that deal with how the formatting works. 
  * [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WikiGuide/WritingGuide| The Writing Guide]] and [[https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DocumentationTeam/StyleGuide|Style Guide]] - Offer insight into how pages should be written stylistically.
  * [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/IconsPage|Icons]] - Images can be useful when properly worked into a page.
 * [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WikiSandBox|Wiki Sandbox]] - A sandbox, experiment with markup and editing tools as you like. The best learning is done hands on.
 * [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WikiGuide/Communication| Communication]] - A few extra pointers on staying in contact and courtesy.
 
'''Advanced Recommended Reading:'''
 * [[DocumentationTeam/StyleGuide/ReferenceMaterials|Style Guide References]] - Additional materials on technical and documentation writing.
 * The [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Tag|Tag]] System - Used throughout the main wiki to mark what needs reviewing.
 * [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WikiGuide/DeletingAndRenaming|Deletion and Renaming]] - Such tasks are only done by admins, but it is best if you make their lives easier. There are only a few.
 * [[HelpOnProcessingInstructions|Redirecting]] - Can be useful to redirect pages or common alternate names to a main page.
 * [[http://packages.ubuntu.com/karmic/editmoin|EditMoin]] - Some prefer to edit the wiki pages from a desktop text editor, this package allows you to do so.
 * [[HelpOnMacros|Macros]] - How to use macros.

= System Documentation =
Members interested in contributing to the system documentation should review the following links that are of interest, in addition to the [[DocumentationTeam/SystemDocumentation|System Documentation]] page mentioned before.
  * [[DocumentationTeam/Repository|Repository]] - Explanation of the repository, where all the docs are located and how they are maintained.
   * [[http://doc.bazaar-vcs.org/latest/en/mini-tutorial/index.html|Bazaar in five minutes]] - A quick start up guide for new users to using the version system bazaar.
  * [[DocumentationTeam/ReviewingDocumentation|Reviewing Documentation]] - Quick checklist for reviewing docs.
  * [[DocumentationTeam/TechReview|Tech Review]] - Explanation of the review process.
   * [[DocumentationTeam/TechReviewExample|Tech Review Example]] - An example of review process, see '''Repository''' section for patching and submission process.
+The address for the list is [email protected]. To subscribe visit http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-doc. The list archive is at http://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-doc/.