[TriLUG] writing about a OSS project you had nothing to do with

[Daniel Bartholomew]

On Tue, 2007-06-05 at 15:40 -0400, Greg Brown wrote:
> What do you think?  I can't imagine all the OSS related books were blessed
> by the specific OSS projects yet there seems to be something not quite right
> about it.

I think there's nothing wrong with writing about a project that you are
not affiliated with (I've done it on several occasions), and for some
types of books and articles, I believe not being affiliated with the
project can be a benefit.

If you're writing the be-all-and-end-all reference to a piece of
software, then yeah, you want (and probably need) to get the input of
project leaders and programmers. They can offer valuable insights into
how the software works that can help make your book or article that much
better.

However, not all books and articles are meant as comprehensive
references. Many are high-level-overviews or get-you-up-and-running-fast
pieces. Those types, I believe, can benefit from having someone
unaffiliated write them. Those in the trenches of the project might tend
to emphasize one aspect or another of the software to the detriment of
others, but a fresh face is sometimes able to better describe the whole
project in terms that readers, many of whom are likely not acquainted
with the software or how to use it, can understand. It's the forest and
the trees thing - sometimes it's better for someone standing outside the
forest to describe the forest as opposed to someone working away inside
the forest.

-- 
Daniel Bartholomew

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