Handbooks Update: August 20, 2014

We had our weekly chat today with @blobaugh, @jerrysarcastic, @sewmyheadon, @topher1kenobe, and myself in attendance (log here).

Both handbooks received quite a bit of attention during the WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. Grand Rapids and WordCamp Maine contributor days.

PluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party Developer Handbook:

• Some progress made over the last week.
• A lot of things at 90%+ that need final edits.
• Focus is on getting sections completed one-by-one.
• Each section will need an “introduction” added. Some of them already exist.

Theme Developer Handbook:

• A second docs meetupMeetup All local/regional gatherings that are officially a part of the WordPress world but are not WordCamps are organized through https://www.meetup.com/. A meetup is typically a chance for local WordPress users to get together and share new ideas and seek help from one another. Searching for ‘WordPress’ on meetup.com will help you find options in your area. in the Seattle area is going to be setup starting in October or so.
• Eric would like a second person to help lead the handbook, specifically someone who can work with other volunteers.
• Like the plugin handbook, we’ll need introductions for each section.

For both handbooks, our focus is on getting things done faster and not making them “perfect.” We’ll edit as needed on the live site, but it’s important to get what we have in a usable state and get it live soon. Migrated pages will be blanked out on the staging site (make/docs) so we don’t modify them further.

Finally, I updated the “Handbooks” page on the docs contributor handbook. That page and its subpages (including the style guide) need review and editing so we can help onboard new contributors.

Would it help to have contributors join our weekly chats? Or perhaps to have a weekly, online handbook sprint? What does the docs team think?

#handbook-chat, #handbooks