Incorrect Terminology for Installing on a Mac

Hi :slight_smile:

Is there a generic term that covers taskbar, dock, panel? Many users will see
all these things as being very much alike. Geeks know that they are completely
different of course but many people don't even know the name for whichever one
they have been using for years. I think taskbar is generally used as the
generic term since docks are almost never seen by about 90-80% of desktop users.

Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

Hi Tom,

As far as the Mac goes, Larry is right. The vocabulary is pretty
specific, and people on Mac don't generally refer to Taskbar, Drawer,
etc. Ever since OSX came into being, the UI has remained essentially
unchanged, so those specific terms are all understood by Mac users.

I agree, however, that completely rewriting the documentation / guides,
etc, just to take into account the specificities of Mac vocabulary is
not a route that I am going to go down. If Larry wants to make Mac
specific guides just for that platform then he is quite welcome to do so
as far as I'm concerned :-))

Alex

Ahh, good good :slight_smile:

I think they were talking about specifically Mac documentation. So, i
completely reverse my previous comment about this (fwiw) and now agree with
using dock or whatever is correct rather than trying to use Windows terms.

Many apologies for my previous post Larry!

Many regards to all from
Tom :slight_smile:

I am not and am not about to become a documentation writer. However, it is very important to have correct terminology for users learning a program.

I have lost count of the number of times Mac users on help forums have stated they can not find "Tools/Options" after being referred to that setting by a user guide or help file (or a non Mac user trying to give support). The correct location is "OpenOffice.org/Preferences". An experienced Mac user will probably figure it out for themselves since that is the usual location for preference settings on a Mac. But a new Mac user will not know that.

Many people are switching to Macs. Many of them may try LibreOffice. However, if the documentation is inaccurate, they will be unlikely to continue using it.

Larry

The OOo docs team are putting the common Mac menu and keystroke
differences in a table in every chapter of the OOo user guides, and I
believe the LibO docs team are keeping those tables. We (the OOo team)
will expand those lists as needed, if someone who uses a Mac brings the
differences to our attention. It may not be an ideal solution, but I
believe it is a definite improvement.

The inclusion of the Mac menu/keystroke info came about because someone
finally joined the team who (a) is a Mac user and (b) specifically
mentioned these issues. I at least am very happy this occurred.

--Jean

Hi Larry, :slight_smile:

Unfortunately, we just don't have enough active team members, at the
moment, to develop platform-specific documentation.

Right now, documentation is being sourced from oooauthors.org and
adapted to the LibreOffice team's needs for LibreOffice. So, if that
oooauthors.org content contains Mac-specific info, it will be
preserved.

But, IMHO, when the LibreOffice team has its own dedicated working
resources, and when the OOo/LibO disributions start to diverge, and
when the LibreOffice team starts work on the manuals that are
currently completely unwritten, I'd guess we'll be developing our own
documentation independently. I'd guess that this will happen in the
fairly near future...

At that time, we'd need some Mac users on the team to get involved and
help us provide content that is OK for the Mac community... You could,
for instance, post-edit drafted documentation and augment it with
Mac-related content (shortcut tables, etc.).

If you want Mac-ready content, then the answer is to get in there and
give us a hand! :smiley:

David Nelson

At that time, we'd need some Mac users on the team to get involved and
help us provide content that is OK for the Mac community... You could,
for instance, post-edit drafted documentation and augment it with
Mac-related content (shortcut tables, etc.).

Whenever I notice something that is incorrect I will let you know.

If you want Mac-ready content, then the answer is to get in there and
give us a hand!:smiley:

The real question is do you want Mac users to use LibreOffice? If so, you will provide correct documentation.

I get real tired, smiley or no smiley of being told to do it myself when making suggestions to open source projects.

Larry

Hi Larry, :slight_smile:

I get real tired, smiley or no smiley of being told to do it myself when
making suggestions to open source projects.

People who work on Open Source projects sometimes get tired of being
told how to do their work by people who aren't willing to contribute
work. After all, you're not paying us, right? So, if you don't like
something, start *doing* something about it. :wink:

David Nelson

Larry,
I know that feeling only too well. And I, for one, always tell people
(and mean it) that just letting me know about problems is very welcome.
So feel free to contact me directly, and I'll do my best to get fixes
into both the OOo docs and the LibO docs.

I'm particularly interested in the Mac issues because I got my first Mac
a few weeks ago and am slowly getting used to the differences. It joins
my main machine (Ubuntu) and my secondary machine (Windows). I hope that
using will help me improve the OOo/LibO docs, in addition to the things
I got it for.

Regards, Jean

David, I think your comment to Larry in this note was inappropriate and
uncalled for. Pointing out errors is not, in my view, telling someone how to
do their work. Nor is suggestions on how things could be done better.

I'm with Jean: I appreciate it anytime someone points out something that I
didn't know, but which is info that I can use to improve something I'm
working on. While it would, of course, be nice for everyone who sees a
problem to help solve that problem, I don't expect or require that of
anyone. I am just grateful to be made aware of the problem. Unless, of
course, someone makes me aware in an argumentative way... which Larry did
not do.

Hal

Hi Hal, :slight_smile:

Sorry, Hal, I don't agree with you. I only invited Larry in the
friendliest way to get involved in remedying shortcomings with regard
to Mac info in LibreOffice documentation.

Larry replied, "Whenever I notice something that is incorrect I will
let you know. The real question is do you want Mac users to use
LibreOffice? If so, you will provide correct documentation. I get real
tired, smiley or no smiley of being told to do it myself when making
suggestions to open source projects."

Personally, I found the tone, and the manner of interpreting what I
actually said, to be less than gracious, friendly and recognizing of
the time and work I and others contribute to providing Open Source to
the world. I am not there to be spoken to harshly by Larry or anyone
else. I, myself, always strive to be courteous and friendly to people.

BTW, I am not the first to have said something similar to Larry in
recent threads on TDF lists. So, Larry, might I invite you to perhaps
adjust the *tone* of your communications a little bit.

You may find things like smilies to be superfluous, but little touches
like that, plus old-fashioned terms and phrases like "Please, could
you consider..." and "Thank you for your work..." are like a
lubricating oil that makes human relations take place in a
more-gracious and friendlier manner. :wink:

The point I made was a perfectly valid one: the best way to ensure
constant improvement in Open Source is to get in there and help out.
At the very least, when "making suggestions", it would be good to make
them in a tone that sounds a bit less grumpy and unpleasant. :wink:

So, to tell you again: sorry, Hal, I do not agree with you.

But I'm not getting into an argument about this, so I will allow you
and/or others the satisfaction of having the last word on the subject.
:wink:

I'm sure you'll have a good time at my expense! :smiley:

David Nelson

Hi Larry, :slight_smile:

I get real tired, smiley or no smiley of being told to do it myself when
making suggestions to open source projects.

People who work on Open Source projects sometimes get tired of being
told how to do their work by people who aren't willing to contribute
work.

Making suggestions and pointing out errors is contributing to the project. The project isn't about you, it is for the people who will use the product. Time you started listening.

After all, you're not paying us, right?

Too bad. If I was, you would be fired.

So, if you don't like
something, start *doing* something about it. :wink:

I'll do something. I won't put up with your abusive bullshit.

David Nelson

Larry

Hi

Computer geeks are famously bad at dealing with people. Often you have to
choose between getting someone good at the work or getting someone that can be
friendly about it. So far we have been mostly lucky in getting people that are
capable of both.

That is not to excuse rudeness as everyone 'should' try to be at least
reasonable and there is no reason we should tolerate any rudeness. Often rude
people are unwittingly selfish, self-centred or just really inconsiderate of
other people due to being focused on their area of expertise. They are to be
pitied for their lack of awareness and lack of ability rather than condemned for
it. Guiding them might sometimes help but really we just have to choose to deal
with people like that or miss out on the good stuff they can contribute.

Good luck and regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

"Politeness" is also a function of culture. What one group of people
consider to be polite may seem quite rude to others.

Email is a notoriously difficult medium in which to indicate "tone" in
one's speech, especially when combined with the cultural differences.
For example, David's use of lots of smileys often "sounds" to me like he
is being condescending, or smirking. I know that's not what he intends,
but it does often "sound" that way.

Some of us (including some people from some parts of America) have more
abrupt methods of speaking, or different turns of phrase, with fewer of
the sorts of phrases that Brits and some others consider important
indicators of politeness. We are not deliberately being rude, but we
often sound that way to others. Trust me, if one of us wants to be rude,
you ain't heard nothin' yet.

--Jean

Quite. English people are often seen as being very rude too.

I have certainly been quite rude to quite a number of good people in here but
not received any criticism for it yet. I try to mitigate my rudeness by
sometimes giving congrats where it's due but it would be better if i avoided
"knee-jerk" responses and took some time to consider my posts before making
them.

Hey, great news about the new release candidate! :slight_smile:
Good luck and regards to all from
Tom :slight_smile:

I think maybe people need to remember that although we are all speaking the same language we use the words in different ways!

Hi Larry,

Thank you for your comments. They are a good reminder 90% accuracy in
documentation is not good enough, despite all the efforts we may put in
it. I know your choice of words may not seem ideal to many but we need
to see further. I hope you stick around.

Perhaps a more constructive approach would be to have some sort of
warning about the Mac documentation needing help, being draft or else ?
I know how this sounds, but a clear link to the bug reporting section or
1-2-3 steps (even easier, lower barrier than this list) to reporting
such errors would quickly constitue a to-do list than even a non-Mac
user can tackle easily. Some of us could relay such issues as bugs -
would it be appropriate to do so ? Which component ? "Documentation"
indicates it's for "Problems with online help". There's also this part
of the docs wiki:
http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Documentation/Produce

I tend to agree with Larry it's on use to get more Mac users (and
ultimately, convert them to another OS... but that's another subject !).
80% of that goal starts by reporting the problems, which is a huge
contribution IMHO.

Cheers,

Fabian

Adding a smiley does not change the fact that a statement is condescending or insulting. I will respond in kind.

Larry

And from different languages as well ... :wink:

Rogerio

Summarizing this thread:

Mac Documentation needs attention, but Mac Developers are still rare, so we
will have to wait a bit to get this done.

If someone with a Mac could step up we would appreciate it ...

Thanks,

Rogerio