This page provide some guidelines on how to add/edit/contribute to the DebianOn effort.
DebianOn Philosophy
?Include(InstallingDebianOn/PageFragments/Philosophy) |
Coding Style
Coding Style... Ok, it isn't about coding, but it is about style...
Re-use existing page fragment. MoinMoin wiki let you include a page in another page. So for instance, if the Dell Latitude D620 uses the same wireless card as the Thinkpad T60, you could put that section in a page named InstallingDebianOn/!PageFragmentIntelIpw3945/etch, then include it from both the T60 and the D620 using: [[Include(InstallingDebianOn/PageFragmentIntelIpw3945/etch)]] ?BR Note that "!PageFragmentIntelIpw3945/etch" is directly under "InstallingDebianOn", because both configuration steps are identical for both laptops.?BR If later it happen that the Dell Latitude have some specific configuration steps, one should copy "InstallingDebianOn/!PageFragmentIntelIpw3945/etch" to "!InstallingDebianOn/Dell/Latitude/!PageFragmentIntelIpw3945/etch".
Don't over-use links
- Pages overloaded with links are less readable (Ideally, the reader just have to follow the recipe from top to bottom).
- Many links can be moved to the resources section.
- Do give credits to authors (in the credits section !). Preferably with name, URL and purpose.
Use ! in front of !CamelCaseWords to avoid automatic linking.
Don't overload page / keep it short.
- If the explanation of a specific point gets too long, just link to a dedicated page.
moinmoin wiki allows to automatically create Footnotes, see ?FootNote(Footnotes are used like this)
Follow the direction: when you edit some InstallingDebianOn* pages, there are lots of indications in the page comments (lines beginning with ##)
Subscribe : You are encouraged to subscribe to the InstallingDebianOn page(s) for the configuration you have (For instance, subscribe to !InstallingDebian/Dell/!?LatitudeD620.*). The ".*" is meant to catch "/Discussion" pages. (?UserPreferences).?BRYou might be pleased to be notified for solved problem.
HowTo Add/Edit a Specific Computer Model
This section give advice to add or edit a computer model (like Thinkpad T61)
Quick : It's better to fill a quick, incomplete report (and still accurate), than no report at all.
Name of the page : In order to be consistent, the page should be name something like !InstallingDebianOn/Mycomputerbrand/Mycomputermodel. So it is clearly affiliated to !InstallingDebianOn/Mycomputerbrand.
Template : If a template named like "!InstallingDebianOn/!MycomputerbrandTemplate" exists, you should use it. Otherwise, use "!InstallingDebianOn/!?GenericComputerTemplate" or "!InstallingDebianOn/!?GenericLaptopTemplate" or "!InstallingDebianOn/!?GenericServerTemplate"
Fresh install (?) : It is best to write installation guide while actually installing Debian from scratch. otherwise, write in your report that it isn't a clean install.
Device Status : Accuracy IS important. If you haven't tested a feature, simply write it ! (Not Tested). If you couldn't get a feature to work, write it ! (Work Needed). If your confident there's no driver, write it (No driver in Etch, or Not yes supported by upstream driver as of 2006/12/31 (see http://somewhere/)), etc..
Installation and Bug Reports : Open [http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/release-notes/ch-moreinfo.html#s-bugs bugs] and make an [http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/apas04.html installation-report] when needed. It isn't a duplicate work : bug report (including installation-report) are useful to to developers to prepare the next version/release of Debian. Whereas a "DebianOn Installation Howto's" helps end-users of current Debian version. (You can still cross-link the bug and wiki pages).
Advertise the new howto : This is especially useful if this computer is part of a new product line, and the Installation Howto is quite complete.
for laptop, send a mail to ?MailTo(debian DASH laptop AT lists DOT debian DOT org?subject= SPAM Installing%20Debian%20On [model], debian-laptop mailing list)
If this a new product line AND it is well supported by Debian/Stable, you could advertise on the FrontPage (post it on FrontPageNewsFeed)
Howto Add/Edit a Page Fragment
Work in progress
- Use Template
Name it like: ?PageFragmentDevicename(distribution) like PageFragmentIntelIpw3945/etch
- Try to guess how often that page fragment:
- Is it specific to a computer brand ? or usable for many computer brands ? (this will determine the parent page).
- If it is very generic, maybe it should just a regular page (with a very tiny page fragment... For instance, how to use ndiswrapper)
HowTo Add/Edit a Brand or Device Type
This section covers steps to add a new computer brand (like Toshiba) or a new generic kind of devices (Watch running Linux, may be).
PageName : Think twice of the name of your hub : InstallingDebianOn/Dell, ?InstallingDebianOn/DellLatitude, InstallingDebianOn/DellLaptop/, InstallingDebianOn/DellLaptop/Latitude+InstallingDebianOn/DellLaptop/Inspiron etc.. (I would choose InstallingDebianOn/IBM/Thinkpad because it's the only names for their laptop, but I would choose InstallingDebianOn/Asus/Laptop because there are many laptop models).
Template : Create the page based on template InstallingDebianOn/Laptop_template
Page Alias : It might be a good idea to create a dummy wiki page named just "Mycomputerbrand" and link it to InstallingDebianOn/Mycomputerbrand, therefore : 1.user searching for that brand would find it easily. 2. Nobody will create a clone page by mistake. That dummy page should just contain : #REDIRECT InstallingDebianOn/Mycomputerbrand
FAQ
Who can contribute under InstallingDebianOn : Anybody, that's the purpose of a wiki !
What to contribute under InstallingDebianOn : Any return of experience in installing Debian on specific hardware. Again, InstallingDebianOn is not about how to use [:DebianInstaller:Debian Installer], neither is it a how to use some piece of software (but you are encourage contribute and link to such page).
Where to contribute : All ?InstallingDebian_On page are store on the Debian Wiki http://wiki.debian.org/InstallingDebian_On*.
When : Now or tomorrow (yesterday is just fine too). but 4 lines now are better than 2 pages never.
How : If the explanation in this page aren't clear enough, Just AskTM in ["InstallingDebianOn/Discussion"].