Create a space
to host a list of resources
to explore the documentation of coding related practices
for situated software
and articulate it as a form of care
Target public
people in small communities
related to software
Examples
Soupboat
Breadcube
XPUB
Varia
OSP
Konstant
Autonomic
100R
etc
Why a space?
Why a list?
Why resources?
Why not just a manual on how to write the perfect software documentation?
It's tricky!
🤧
There is no such a thing as a magic solution for perfect documentation
While there are documentation frameworks that help naming and structuring things
these usually cover just generic approach for technical writing
Situated software has more to offer than a generic approach
sprouting from specific contexts
it can depend on particular knowledges and skills
that differ in each community
This diversity means
manifold of ideas and ways to document
hence a list of resources
someone would call it site specific software
someone else situated knowledges
Different resources come from different communities
It is not guaranted for them to be interchangeable
nor to be effective or either meaningful for everyone else
Yet, to be together in this list could be a way to interfere with each other
To create perspective and inspire new strategies
So the need for a space where to host the list
What are the feature of this space?
Open to contributions
A bit structured
A bit loose
Is it a platform?
Could it be something different than a website?
Could it work without browser's technology?
Could it have less environmental impact?
Could it be simple and lightweight?
Could it inhabit existing documentations?
A strange hyper tagging system?
Idea
Federated list
should it follow the concepts of the Fediverse?
several instances of this list
growing from specific groups or cluster of groups
each community curates it's own list
this is interesting
is it different from a normal feed?
yes
because the contents are curated
not just aggregated
how is it structured?
each instance has a server
and offer access for clients
again
could this be something different than a website?
actually and ideally
every instance could decide on the form
more like a mesh
a tapestry
So what is this?
A social network in the fediverse?
A federated code of conduct?
An entangled soup of documentation resources?
I don't know yet
But i can imagine a process:
1
Starting super small
We
(XPUB2 + me)
write some documentation around the Soupboat
collecting resources
experimenting techniques
taking care
2
(around march?)
the system is offered to others
that means either
giving workshops
or just showcasing the soupboat
inviting other communities to try it as well
(xpub1)
(that autralian collective)
(varia)
3
let's see
ok no
Software documentation as a form of care
Code and documentation can live together
like in the
soup gen
Documentation and doubts can share the same space