First email the HOWTO coordinator at
mailto:[email protected] or
mailto:[email protected]. If you're taking over an
unmaintained HOWTO, contact the former author. This may required by
the copyright-license but you should do it out of courtesy even it
it's not required.
These are mostly by Tim Bynum (a former HOWTO coordinator).
Be sure and use an accepted format (such as LinuxDoc :-).
Try to use meaningful structure and organization, and write
clearly. Remember that many of the people reading HOWTOs do not speak
English as their first language.
Make sure that all of the information is correct. I can't stress
this enough. When in doubt, speculate, but make it clear that you're
only guessing. I use ?? if I'm not sure.
Make sure that you are covering the most recent version of the
available software.
Consider including a "FAQ" section. It might also be called
"Common Problems" or "Trouble Shooting".
Be sure to copyright it in your name and include a license
which meets the requirements stated in the LDP manifesto.
Use the standard header with title, author, and date
(including a version number). See
Example 3
Lastly, be prepared to receive email questions and comments
from readers. How much you help people is up to you but you should
make use of good suggestions and reports of errors. You may also
get some "thank you" email as well as well as mail from people asking
for help who never even looked at your HOWTO.
After you have written the HOWTO, email the SGML source to
[email protected]. Then all you need to do is to keep the HOWTO
up-to date by submitting periodic updates to the same email as you
used for the first edition.
