To: "DITA Editorial Board" <dita-fa-edboard@lists.xml.org>
Date: Tue, 6 Feb 2007 13:39:27 -0500
Hi Editorial Board,
I would like your critical feedback on a new website offering tools for newcomers to take their first couple of steps with DITA. http://www.ditausers.org
We might call it "DITA from A to B."
The site will allow members to edit some sample DITA files and then process them with the OT running on the web application server. We are integrating the DITA Storm Javascript editor and will support uploads from XMLmind's free Standard Edition.
Clearly, for those working with high-end DITA tools like Arbortext, Framemaker, and XMetaL, there is little value here. But we hope to reach many tech writers who want to explore DITA without the bother of installing anything.
Dave Schell says he thinks it could aid DITA adoption. That's our goal.
Along the way, we assembled a powerful set of resources on the DITA Users site. Although it necessarily duplicates material on other DITA sites, it lets newcomers find everything in one place. Our thought is the more interlinking the better for every DITA site's Google PageRank and thus the level of findability for DITA.
We hope to develop some (for-fee) mentoring relationships for DITA Users. Our site will just provide links to mentors (and other DITA consultants) and let them negotiate their own financial arrangements.
The modest income from member fees will buy David Pearson's time to provide support to members.
The idea grew out of our Boston DITA Users Group planning meeting (the team included Liz Augustine, Deb Boczulak, Nancy Harrison, Judy Kessler, David Pearson, Willie Williams, and myself) where we proposed a workshop to install the DITA OT on laptops. Responses showed us people just wanted to work with DITA without the tech hassles. So we came up with the idea of DITA on a server with a CMS. We will present the website at our March meeting and hope to launch the site, accepting members, at the end of March.
