Some Assistance Please

Tue May 23 13:26:21 EDT 2017

Hey Doncram,

Glad to hear you joining the fray. If you look through the list archives, you will see that I am another contributor who is challenged by the Documentation Update procedures (and the wiki documentation, and the fact that there is a decade-old copy of the Concept Guide on the wiki to trip up unsuspecting users…). I would love to offer you advice on these issues, but to be truthful, I have gotten things to work only incrementally, and with many errors along the way. I could perhaps show you how NOT to do this! A little more seriously, I would recommend working slowly through the Documentation update process page, and come to the list each and every time you hit a brick wall. That is ultimately what I did.

As for the wiki login issue, try clearing out your browser cookies, and see if that helps. I seem to recall needing to do that in order to gain access at one point.

David

P.S. To the GnuCash Wiki Protectorate: this is yet another person who notes the outdated and incorrect Concept Guide information available on GnuCash’s wiki. How many more are out there that we don’t know about—and why, exactly, is it still necessary to keep this crap information up on the wiki?

> On May 23, 2017, at 10:11 PM, doncram <doncram at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Wow the process to change documentation (at http://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Documentation_Update_Instructions <http://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Documentation_Update_Instructions> ) seems pretty complicated, even impossible for Windows users.  I would hope it should be possible to have a full working version of the Tutorial and Concepts Guide that is open for edits/improvement by users informed about accounting and trying to make the Guide more useful for basic users, in a wiki document (where changes can be seen and there can be discussion at Talk pages).  Then periodically when the Wiki editors get consensus that a new version is ready, just one programmer type person with Linux could go through those complicated steps to get it published.  Allow different parties to specialize in how they contribute.  I for one would like to contribute in improving the Concepts guide text.  
> 
> Specifically I would like to go through Chapter 13: Business Features and streamline it.  One change would be to move and revise the confusing-to-me "Setting up tax tables" section, which conceivably could be about business income taxes or other taxes, but is not.  It might be introduced later, e.g. under Invoicing, i.e. introduce as a complication only when relevant for users who are going to be invoicing and collecting sales taxes.  I have led classrooms of students in a computer lab through the process of each setting up a company;  i would not want to get bogged down in those specifics which might not apply at all for many businesses, and where the user likely does not have all the specific info needed (specifics on sales tax rates, applicable to what types of sales, etc.) right away.  Another example for the future would be to give instructions on how to adopt one of a few standard charts of accounts.
> 
> I am not sure if I can just work on the Chapter 13 text somewhere public and involve others in reviewing and improving it. The Wiki page for "Concept Guide" at http://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Concept_Guide <http://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Concept_Guide> is not a version of the guide to be edited, nor does it link to one in any obvious way.  I would certainly like to try following the Documentation Update Instructions together with other new contributors here and participate in improving it.  
> 
> Currently I am trying to log into the Wiki but keep getting error message:
> There seems to be a problem with your login session; this action has been canceled as a precaution against session hijacking. Go back to the previous page, reload that page and then try again.
> Recent changes shows that Jrall opened an account for me, which I reported did not allow me to edit, because I need to get some user group rights added, and I don't yet know if I was able to log in again whether I would be able to edit yet.
> 
> cheers, Doncram
> 
> On Wed, May 3, 2017 at 11:10 AM, Geert Janssens <geert.gnucash at kobaltwit.be <mailto:geert.gnucash at kobaltwit.be>> wrote:
> On dinsdag 2 mei 2017 18:10:35 CEST David T. via gnucash-devel wrote:
> > Here’s what I mean:
> >
> > On the Documentation Update instructions, section 3 contains 17 different
> > steps.
> >
> > Step 3.1: Create a Bugzilla Bug is a step that should be undertaken with
> > every proposed change to the documentation.
> >
> > Step 3.2: Clone the Documentation, however, is (presumably) a one-time
> > setup. Steps 3.3-3.5 similarly are one-time setups (unless you’re a screwup
> > like me, and then you get to do them over and over again).
> >
> > Steps 3.6-3.10 are again repeated for each change to the docs.
> >
> > Step 3.11 is a step that is not technically part of the documentation
> > process at all, since it only applies to one family of GnuCash’s supported
> > operating systems. Mac and Windows writers don’t perform this step, and the
> > fact that I have been contributing changes for years without conducting
> > these tests underscores the fact that they aren’t a required part of the
> > Documentation Update process.
> >
> > Steps 3.12 and following are back to steps taken on each change—although at
> > this point, I wonder whether people are preparing patches and attaching
> > them to Bugzilla bugs (steps 3.15-3.17), or whether everyone has moved to
> > the Github pull request method.
> >
> 
> I believe you make a valid point. The current structure makes it more
> difficult than necessary to find what you should do next while working on
> documentation. IMO would make more sense to have a section "prepare your
> environment" with the details of one time actions and a section on what's
> needed the handle one specific bug. Optionally a section on how to clean up if
> things went wrong or when switching to another bug to work on.
> 
> I didn't follow the discussion in the past in detail I'm afraid so I don't
> know why this or something similar wasn't taken into consideration.
> 
> Geert
> _______________________________________________
> gnucash-devel mailing list
> gnucash-devel at gnucash.org <mailto:gnucash-devel at gnucash.org>
> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-devel <https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-devel>
> 