Future "Tutorial and User Guide" direction

[Derek Atkins]

Jon Lapham <lapham at extracta.com.br> writes:

> Thinking about Derek's comments on splitting the user guide up:
> 
> Getting Started
> Managing your Personal Finances
> Managing your Business Finances
> Advanced Topics
> (you could split Advanced Topics into "Personal" and "Business")
> 
> I propose that (after 1.8.5 is released) we (I) split the
> documentation into 2 separate guides.  Personal Finance and Business
> Finance.
> 
> Yes, there will be lots of duplication (cut/paste to begin with), but
> I think in the long run it will be *much* nicer for both the personal
> users and business users.  The net effect (hopefully) is to make the
> docs smaller but more targeted.
> 
> All the examples can be tailor-made for the each audience, the
> personal finance users do not have to see scary chapter titles like
> "depreciation", the business users will not have to wade through
> examples demonstrating paying rent on your apartment.

Personal users may still need depreciation.  For example, I rent out
part of my house so I need to depreciate it.  Also, business users may
have to pay rent on their office space.

> What do you think?

Honestly, I can't think of anything that would belong in a "GnuCash
guide to Personal Finance" that wouldn't also belong in a "GnuCash
guide to Business Finance".  The inverse is not true -- I see no
reason to discuss AR, AP, Customers, Vendors, Invoices, Bills,
Payroll, TaxTables, Billing Terms, etc. in the "Personal Finance"
docs.

But seriously, I think except for the specific chapters devoted to
the above sections, I see no reason to duplicate the docs.

-derek

-- 
       Derek Atkins, SB '93 MIT EE, SM '95 MIT Media Laboratory
       Member, MIT Student Information Processing Board  (SIPB)
       URL: http://web.mit.edu/warlord/    PP-ASEL-IA     N1NWH
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