[IAEP] Library content, the largest future group of contributors

[C.W. Holeman II]

Here are some comments on the Sugar Camp Brainstorm session.
Sugarcamp (http://sugarlabs.org/go/Sugarcamp_proposal) had a link to:

http://sugarlabs.org/go/User:Mchua/proposals#Sugarcamp_brainstorm

> SugarLabs the easiest open education/educational technology
> community for people (especially new volunteers) to contribute to.

That is good and needed goal.

My experience in trying to simply take my existing content
(http://emle.sf.net) and package it as a library content bundle
indicates to me that it is not easy for a new outsider to contribute.
Emle works on Firefox.

I installed Sugar on Ubuntu and tried Emle on the Sugar Browse activity
which worked. Then I packaged Emle according to the documentation
on the OLPC and Sugar Labs sites. The problem came when I tried to
test my packaging.

The issues for new outsiders:

- There is documentation and notes that assume an XO machine vs Sugar
running on an Ubuntu system.
- What is supposed to be the same and what is expected to be different?
- Hardware issues one could assume.
- The opening page on XO is "OLPC Library" vs "about:blank" on Ubuntu.
- Was the opening page a bug or an improperly installed Sugar?
- Where does one ask these questions?
- Where are the pointers to the proper bug tracking system?
- Where is the documentation that tells one how to determine version
  information.
- This is a rapidly changing system.
- There is a lack of clear documentation on naming conventions.
- Where is the documentation that identifies what specifications are
  trying to be implemented in a specific runtime version of sugar.
- The multi-platform (XO, Ubuntu, Windows emulation) nature adds complexity.
- Adding library collections will likely be the area for which the most
  outside contributions will be made (vs Activities, Sugar core code or
  Linux drivers).
- This mass of library collection contributors will not need to have
  an XO machine to create new content nor to modify existing
  content.

--
C.W.Holeman II | cwhii_cplo at JulianLocals.com |
http://sugarlabs.org/go/User:Cwhii
 To only a fraction of the  human  race does God  give the  privilege of
 earning one's bread doing what one would have  gladly pursued free, for
 passion. I am very thankful. The Mythical Man-Month Epilogue/F.P.Brooks