[pmwiki-users] Does this list inhibit development of good documentation?

[Simon]

I think the short answer is yes.

It is tooo easy for a quick question to be flicked off,
instead of ''reading the documentation''.

Thinking about what you want and reading documentation is hard,
getting someone else to think for you is easy.

UseMod is a wiki with NO email list. - this is good.
Consequently its website (eating its own dog food) is better polished
and up to date.

The longer answer is that it is incumbent on us to
* refer to the seemingly most pertinent documentation we have searched
in our quest for an answer
* update the documentation with the answer after we receive it, or
* if the answer was already there, add a few links and references from
where we thought it would be to where it is.


Documentation isn't a linear or a hierarchical thing.
Its a network.
What we need is content and navigation.

Content is simply a matter of thinking about what needs to be said,
and then writing it down.

Navigation is subtler. Its a personal thing.

PmWiki is admirably provided with navigation through the page and group
structure,
search, categories.

So, its up to you
- use PmWiki more,
- use the mailing list less
- write and refactor

cheers

Simon

PS I use my profile page to list the documentation I find most valuable.


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