No, here:

Feel free to use the following:

Generally, computer documentation includes the following:

* An introductory guide, focusing on features and highlighting the software. Somewhat a marketing tool but technical in nature.
* A startup guide, focusing on the basics of using the software.
* A quick reference guide, focusing on mouse and keyboard shortcuts as well as the most common tasks.
* A fat user guide, focusing on all elements of using the software. Often includes tutorials.
* An administrator's guide. This is the stuff that makes most people's eyes water but is the first thing a geek grabs when confronted with problems.


** Introduction and Welcome Guide **
What is Slackware?
How Does Slackware Differ From Windows and Macs?
What is Linux?
What is GNU/Linux?
The Idea of Free/Libre Software

** Startup Guide --- An Overview **
The KDE Desktop
The Xfce Desktop
The Fluxbox Desktop
Basic Mouse and Keyboard Techniques
Basic Keyboard Shortcuts
Using Menus
Using Dialog Boxes
Finding Help

** Reference Guide --- Some Computer Fundamentals **
A Multitasking and Multiuser Computer System
Security and User Permissions
Logging In
Logging Out
Creating User and Group Accounts
Shutting Down Properly
Customizing the Desktop
Customizing the Desktop for People with Special Needs
Customizing for Multiple Languages
Adding "Quick Launch" Icons to the Task Bar
Adding Items to the System Menu
Understanding Folders and Files
System Files and User Files
Using a File Manager
Finding Files
Using a Printer
Setting the System Clock
Terminating Programs That Crash or Freeze
Connecting to the Internet
Finding New Programs
Automatically Updating Programs
Viruses and Malware

** User Guide --- How Do I . . . **
Play Solitaire?
Quickly calculate some numbers?
Surf the web?
View a PDF file?
Send and receive email?
Organize my schedule?
Write a formal letter?
Edit basic text files?
Jot notes to myself?
Use special keyboard characters?
Schedule reminders and alarms for myself?
Let the children "paint"?
Do some serious drawing?
Grab a screenshot?
Touch up and edit images?
Draw a flowchart?
Create some charts?
Learn to type?
Listen to music files?
Listen to an audio CD?
Adjust my audio volume?
Watch DVD movies?
Make backups of my CDs and DVDs?
Rip an audio CD?
Use my USB flash drive?
How do I save camera photographs?
Browse and manage my digital photograph collection?
Download and read RSS feeds?
Chat with my daughter with instant messaging?
Edit my web site pages?
Manage finances?
Manage a small-scale project?

** Advanced Topics (Appendices or Separate Documents) **
System Requirements
The Command Line Interface
Installing Multimedia Codecs
Configuring Video Cards and Monitors
Configuring Sound Cards
Configuring Mice
Configuring Internet and Network Connections
Configuring Printers
Configuring Page Scanners
Configuring TV Cards
Installing New Software
Installing Fonts
Installing Firefox Extensions Globally for All Users
Creating A Common File Storage Location
Scheduling System Tasks and Events
Modifying the Bootloader Options
Keeping Slackware Secure
Updating Security Patches
Obtaining Additional Packages
Some Thoughts About Backups

** Administrator's Guide **
Finding Help
Hard Disk Partitioning
Installing Slackware
Updating Slackware
Building Packages
Some Unix Basics
The Filesystem Hierarchy and Structure
Command Line Shell Basics
How the Slackware System Boots
System Services
Kernel Modules and Devices
Slackware Package Management
Emergency Repair Tricks
System Information and Inventory Tricks
Solving System Problems
Installing Windows in a Virtual Machine
Configuring a Firewall
Configuring a Router and Family Local Network
CPU Frequency Scaling
Power Management
Managing a Slackware/Windows Dual Boot System
Migrating Web Browser Settings
Migrating Email Settings

5 members found this post helpful.

Yes, that looks good, Woodsman.

Inconceivable!

Again!

Great list, Woodsman; I agree with this sort of proposal for a layout.

Woodsman, your TOC looks PERFECT. I forwarded it to the newly-founded SlackDocs mailing list.

deleted.

Oooooh yeah, perfect start, more than complete (How do I ... Play Solitaire?) ! ^^

But one thing I struggled with, after getting Slack installed is the order in which to do things.
Like, ok now it's installed and I can configure thousand of things. But where do I start ? What should I custom first ? Even further, what should I custom and what can I leave like it is ? Recompiling the kernel with only the modules needed is maybe not the first thing you're gonna do (AFAIK ...).
Of course, this could be just an article in the 'Startup guide'.

This is a question to the admins (Eric & kiki): do you have the 'Tag Plugin' installed ? This would be nice to aggregate topics, like having 'CLI', 'X', 'kernel', 'hardware', ..., tags. This could allow users searching for a particular tag, and us having lighter directory trees. We could use Woodsman's categories (Reference Guide --- Some Computer Fundamentals, User Guide --- How Do I, ...) as namespaces, and tags beneath them.

@vharishankar: don't give up now, c'mon. Discussion is a big part of starting a new project. By the way, I don't think a Wiki is the best solution, neither a book. The solution is a subtle mix between the two approaches, but that's my opinion.

From the original post:

I think this is where we want to go, don't you? What it seems to imply, in my eyes, is that we would gather all Slack information into one place. Personally, I think that it's a lofty goal, but also one that is not suited to a book form; there are just too many possible howto's to make that feasible.

However, this could all be brought together in either the original proposed form (SlackBuilds -like) or in wiki form. If we stick to a wiki, then we can host an updated Slackbook section as well as a Woodsman-esque guide section and any number of community-generated howto's.

I agree with vharishankar that if we impose a thematic structure on the site, we lose much of it's wiki-ness. That's not to say that we should do away with some sort of approval process, but it seems that there is a push to write the new Slackbook on a wiki and another to compile as much Slackware content as possible.

I'm for both approaches; I see the usefulness of a guidebook, but acknowledge the power of the community contribution system. And I think we can have both, without much difficulty, but I'd guess that would require distinguishing the elements. A Slackbook section would need to adhere to it's ToC to make sense; a Slack-guide would be governed by some thematic root structure, but installing app foo just needs it's own page (unless covered previously, of course. For instance, where does xmonad installation, configuration, etc go? Do we continue to expand the Slackbook/Slackguide to have an grotesque number of xap installation and configuration instructions? How many pages of screen space would that require?)

You can take a peek in my own documentation, a series of text files in an SVN repository.

Take a look in the 13.37/Linux-HOWTOs directory. They're all in French. Not complete yet, but there's already some fair amount of usable docs.

First the Cathedral, then the Bazaar.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I'd add another section. See below for my suggestionsin bold

** Startup Guide --- An Overview **
The KDE Desktop
The Xfce Desktop
The Fluxbox Desktop
Other Desktops / Window Managers
Basic Mouse and Keyboard Techniques

Basic Keyboard Shortcuts
Using Menus
Using Dialog Boxes
These three seems Desktop specific so I'd put them under particular DE/WM entries

Finding Help

** Reference Guide --- Some Computer Fundamentals **
A Multitasking and Multiuser Computer System
Security and User Permissions
Logging In
Logging Out
Creating User and Group Accounts
Shutting Down Properly
Customizing the Desktop
Which DE? Again. IMHO it should by under a particular desktop
Customizing the Desktop for People with Special Needs
Customizing for Multiple Languages
Adding "Quick Launch" Icons to the Task Bar
Not everyone users icons. Tasks bars are configured differently across DEs/WMs. This is DE/WM Specific
Adding Items to the System Menu
DE/WM specific
Understanding Folders and Files
System Files and User Files
Using a File Manager
DE/WM specific
Finding Files
Using a Printer
Setting the System Clock
Terminating Programs That Crash or Freeze
Connecting to the Internet
Finding New Programs
Automatically Updating Programs
Viruses and Malware

** User Guide --- How Do I . . . **
Play Solitaire?
Quickly calculate some numbers?
Surf the web?
View a PDF file?
Send and receive email?
Organize my schedule?
Write a formal letter?
Edit basic text files?
Jot notes to myself?
Use special keyboard characters?
Schedule reminders and alarms for myself?
Let the children "paint"?
Do some serious drawing?
Grab a screenshot?
Touch up and edit images?
Draw a flowchart?
Create some charts?
Learn to type?
Listen to music files?
Listen to an audio CD?
Adjust my audio volume?
Either alsamixer or DE/WM specific
Watch DVD movies?
Make backups of my CDs and DVDs?
Rip an audio CD?
Use my USB flash drive?
How do I save camera photographs?
Browse and manage my digital photograph collection?
Download and read RSS feeds?
Chat with my daughter with instant messaging?
Edit my web site pages?
Manage finances?
Manage a small-scale project?

** Advanced Topics (Appendices or Separate Documents) **
System Requirements
The Command Line Interface
Installing Multimedia Codecs
Configuring Video Cards and Monitors
Configuring Sound Cards
Configuring Mice
Configuring Internet and Network Connections
Configuring Printers
Configuring Page Scanners
Configuring TV Cards
Installing New Software
Installing Fonts
Installing Firefox Extensions Globally for All Users
Creating A Common File Storage Location
Scheduling System Tasks and Events
Modifying the Bootloader Options
Keeping Slackware Secure
Updating Security Patches
Obtaining Additional Packages
Some Thoughts About Backups

** Administrator's Guide **
Finding Help
Hard Disk Partitioning
Installing Slackware
Updating Slackware
Building Packages
Some Unix Basics
The Filesystem Hierarchy and Structure
Command Line Shell Basics
How the Slackware System Boots
System Services
Kernel Modules and Devices
Slackware Package Management
Emergency Repair Tricks
System Information and Inventory Tricks
Solving System Problems
Installing Windows in a Virtual Machine
Configuring a Firewall
Configuring a Router and Family Local Network
CPU Frequency Scaling
Power Management
Managing a Slackware/Windows Dual Boot System
Migrating Web Browser Settings
Migrating Email Settings




IMHO, A lot of stuff is DE/WM specific so I'd organise it around those. Just my 5p

@vharishankar: To give you an example why this approach makes sense to most of us. I just took a long glance at Woodman's initial TOC. I noticed the entry "The KDE Desktop". Now I remember having published an article a few months ago, for a French paper magazine (Planète Linux), entitled "How to survive with KDE4 - A Beginner's Guide". Since I published the article more than three months ago, it belongs to me again, so I'm free to publish it in the wiki, in the according section.

Besides this, I have quite many text files in my ~/Documentation folder, because I regularly keep notes of everything I do on desktops and on servers. Now I feel like whenever I have some time left, I can peruse the TOC and check out where every piece of information will fit in. I think this is as rewarding as a giant puzzle. After some time, you get the whole picture.

May be add a "First steps" section or sth?

PS: Very very nice discussion guys! Still need some time to catch up and read it all...

I tried to register on the wiki but have yet to receive any e-mail with password.

Nice TOC!

There are two emails in the queue which are refused by the remote SMTP server for reason of "Deferred: 451 4.1.8 Fix your reverse DNS".
I can of course not fix my reverse DNS because taper.alienbase is my own domain but the ISP which the IP address belongs to is not my ISP (use of the server is a donation to me).

So: if you fail to receive an email from the Wiki (or from the mailing list server) contact me at my slackware.com address and I will send you a password for the accountname & email address you wish to register as.

Eric