The Documentation Team would like to develop a new template tutorial for Joomla! 1.5 and we would very much like this to be a community effort. Actually we would like to see a whole series of tutorials, starting from the basics for newcomers to Joomla!, through to more advanced topics such as template overrides. The end product will become part of the official Joomla! documentation and will be hosted on one of our websites.
Since almost all websites need some template customisation we anticipate that this will be one of the most important and heavily used pieces of documentation that we are likely to produce.
This project is probably too big for just one person to take on, so we'd like to form a small team of volunteers who can work together under the guidance of Ian MacLennan and myself. Our target is to get these tutorials completed by the time 1.5 goes Stable.
Who are we looking for?
Not necessarily someone already expert with Joomla! templates. Newcomers can bring a unique and useful perspective that complements more experienced viewpoints. Coding experience is definitely not required. Nor do we expect anyone to have had prior experience of producing documentation, though that could help. Most of all we're looking for people with enthusiasm and a keen desire to help others get the most out of their Joomla! installations. The tutorial will be written in British/Australian English but there are opportunities for people for whom English is not their native language to get involved in the more visual aspects of the project.
What do you have to do?
That depends on your skills and the nature of the tasks at each stage as well as the time you have available. The tasks will include writing, proofreading, creating graphics and developing templates with HTML, CSS and a little PHP. We don't expect any one person to have all the necessary skills.
You will be working under the guidance of Ian MacLennan (ianmac) and myself, Chris Davenport.
What do you get in return?
Mainly that warm fuzzy feeling from knowing that you helped produce something of real value to the community. You'll also get the experience of working on a collaborative, community project under the guidance of experienced documentors.
How do you sign-up?
Send a PM to Ian MacLennan (ianmac) or Chris Davenport (chrisdavenport)
Have fun.
Chris.
