OASIS Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) TC

Editorial Preface for the DITA Help Technology Guide

  • 1.  Editorial Preface for the DITA Help Technology Guide

    Posted 03-17-2009 01:17
    Greetings --
     
    Over the weekend, Tony Self (Help SC Chair) and I brainstormed a bit on how to respond to Su-Laine's concerns about the DITA Help Technology Guide. The following preface addresses, in our opinion, Su-Laine's concerns.
     
    The document before the DITA TC for approval tomorrow now consists of the document that you received three weeks ago and this Editorial Preface.
     
    Stan
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    Editorial Preface
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    This first release of the DITA Help Technologies Guide is a work in progress designed to support users, consultants, and vendors working with Help systems and OASIS DITA. Here are a few notes about the Guide to provide context:
     
    * Endorsement: OASIS, the DITA Technical Committee, and the DITA TC Help Subcommittee
      endorse no open-source or commercial technologies supporting DITA. Please view the technologies
      in this Guide as equally appropriate possible solutions for the particular set of Help-related
      requirements that you face and not as a particular set of endorsed or recommended technologies
      or implementations.
     
    * Technologies reviewed: The selection of tools and technologies in this first release of the Guide
      emerged mostly from a series of demos of DITA-related Help technologies done by and for members
      of the DITA Help Subcommittee. The Subcommittee continues to invite users, consultants, and tools
      vendors to participate in reviewing this current release of the Guide and in submitting topics for upcoming
      releases of the Guide. It is our goal to be inclusive (all submissions are welcome) and even-handed
      (no technologies are 'preferred' over others). If any reader perceives content that does not reflect
      the goals of inclusivity and even-handedness, contact the Subcommittee.
     
    * Update schedule: We hope to update and republish this Guide quarterly. If you, a colleague, your
      team, or your company has developed DITA-related implementations or technologies that you
      want to submit to the DITA Help Subcommittee to include in upcoming releases of the Guide,
      please contact a member of the Subcommittee (see below).
     
    * Editorial reviews: The DITA Help Subcommittee works with individual authors in the development
      and final integration of submitted topics. Final editorial and production controls rests with the
      Subcommittee.
     
    * Technical reviews: Whenever possible, Subcommittee members request that the implementations
      and tools profiled in the Guide be available for them to test informally. These informal technical reviews
      are designed primarily to provide contributing authors with feedback. The Subcommittee makes
      no guarantees that these implementations or tools work as profiled or that the Subcommittee
      would support these implementations or tools.
     
    * Feedback: Please send feedback to Stan Doherty (stan@modularwriting.com) or Tony
    March 16, 2009
     
    Stan Doherty
    Editor, DITA Help Technologies Guide
    Secretary, DITA TC Help Subcommitee
    Member, DITA TC