<ALL> re: FAQ Development

[Knute Ream <knute@xxxxxxxx>]

Apologies in advance for the length of this post, but please read it!

This is a cross-post to the BMWUUCdigest, but it applies equally (if not
more so) here, and since it appears that Richard has given the digest a
stay of execution, this is the appropriate forum in which to handle the issue.

Read on!

Matthew Tremmel <matthew.tremmel@domain.elided> wrote:
[...]
>What I propose is a UUC DIGEST FAQ.  This FAQ will attempt to answer 
>as many of the more common questions as possible. I have some ideas 
>of what kinds of questions can be answered below.  I think we can 
>collect A LOT of knowledge in putting this together and come up with 
>something very useful.
[...]
>Some FAQ content ideas:
[...]
>A single FAQ developed by the digesters FOR the digesters
>might help increase the S/N here. I think we should use the existing
>resources as a starting point.  I know there are some people on the 
>digest that could write entire sections themselves for their
>area of expertise.  We just need it all in one place.
>
>I will volunteer to be a single point in which to send information and
>organize it.  I certainly cannot write it.
>I'll put a general format together and request info as I go along.
>Final content of a given section will then
>be approved (this sounds ugly, but...) by us.
>
>If this has been discussed before, tried, and went down in a blaze of
>glory, PLEASE tell me.

Actually, there already are a few good FAQs.  The momma of them all is the
original, which can still be found at
<http://cbsgi1.bu.edu/bmw/new_bmw.html>.  I also highly recommend Dale
Beuning's site: <http://www.eskimo.com/~dalus/bmw/>

I'm embarassed to admit that way back in June of '98, in a fit of
enthusiasm (and after noting that the main FAQ at cbsgil.bu.edu was no
longer being maintained) I tracked down Frank Kjeldsen, the original editor
of the FAQ, and received permission to coordinate a massive update and take
on responsibility for the FAQ.  I contacted all of the listed section
editors, only 2 of whom still seem to exist in cyberspace, and both were
very supportive of the idea.  (There is an updated section for 2002 owners,
for example)  In addition, I shopped around for a new home, (including the
BMWCCA website, which was not selected to due to logistical reasons, though
Gordon Haines was very supportive in his correspondence) and after
evaluating many choices, Richard Welty generously made some space on the
digest.net server for that use.  (see </bmw/FAQ/>,
though there isn't much to see since I never put it there... Sigh!)

Then, as happens to many of us, my job responsibilities dramatically
increased, and I simply haven't had the resources available to take the
next step and make it happen.  I have a redlined copy of the main faq, with
countless updates and corrections, and a huge file of nuggets from the
BMWDigest that need to find a home in the faq.

I could not agree more thoroughly that a good, solid, well-indexed,
well-publicized faq is the single best way to reduce the incessant and
repetitive chatter on a list of this sort.  That's entirely the reason faqs
exist in the first place!

So here's the question:

Who's willing to devote some serious time to this, and what is the best way
to get the faq into a shape that would be more functional?  Among other
things, I'd love to see a section in the FAQ explaining the history of the
FAQ (a brief chronicle of the efforts that brought it into existence, and a
way of patting those founding contributors on the back, including Richard
Welty, Frank Kjeldsen, and numerous editors and sources of information)

What I would propose is to use a very similar format of administration to
what has been used in the past:  editors assigned to individual sections.
In addition, we may wish to consider adding some new sections, such as
"MISC: More than you ever wanted to know about zymol, bon-ami, aircraft
ABS, Rain-X, etc."   We can't really slam a newbie for not reading the FAQ
if there isn't a section in there that answers the question, now can we?

Thoughts?

Email me privately or publicly as you see fit.

- -Knute

*** NOTE ***
My email address has changed to knute@domain.elided, and messages sent to
knute@domain.elided may not reach me after 3/1/99

------------------------------