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FLOSS Manuals

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 80.221.159.67 (talk) at 23:37, 24 October 2016 (Remove opinionated and probably inaccurate claim of GNU Free Documentation License being non-free in lead section (calling it just a "limitation" now)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

FLOSS Manuals
TypeNGO and Non-profit Foundation
Location
FieldsSoftware Freedom
Key people
Adam Hyde
Websiteen.flossmanuals.net

The FLOSS Manuals (FM) is a non-profit foundation founded in 2006 by Adam Hyde and based in the Netherlands. The foundation is focused on the creation of quality documentation about how to use free software.

Its web site is a wiki (previously using the TWiki software, now developed as an autonomous platform with Booki) focused on the collaborative authoring of manuals. The documentation is licensed under the GPL. Although initially the manuals were covered by the GFDL, the license was changed due to concerns about the limitations of the GFDL.[1]

Anyone can contribute to the material at FLOSS Manuals. Each manual has a maintainer – very much like the Debian maintainer system. The maintainer keeps an overview of the manual and discusses with those interested the structure, etc. The maintainer is also responsible for gathering new contributors together. Not all edits are 'live' – the edits are published to the manual when ready. This is to ensure the quality of the manuals is as high and as reliable as possible and that no new user encounters 'half finished' content.

Manuals are available as HTML online, or indexed PDF. Additionally manuals can be remixed so anyone can create their own manual and export to indexed PDF, HTML (ZIP/tar) or an 'Ajax' include.

In fall 2007, Floss manuals was awarded a 15,000 Euro prize by the Dutch Digital Pioneer fund. [2] It has also been financially supported by Google[3] and NLnet.[4] FLOSS Manuals also received a Transmediale Award for its work on Booki[5] and has also been featured in the Texas Linux Fest 2010.[6]

List of manuals

FLOSS Manuals has manuals for all of the following.[7]

Software Manuals Comment
CRM CiviCRM • CiviCRM Developer Guide
Office Firefox • OpenOffice • Thunderbird
Digital signal processing PureData
File system FSLint
One laptop per child Reading And Leading With One Laptop Per Child; Make Sugar Activities • XO • Write • Terminal • Chat Activity • Browse Activity • Record Activity • Turtle Art Activity
Free culture Collaborative Futures
CMS Newscoop • Plumi
Broadcasting Airtime
Internet freedom How to Bypass Internet Censorship • An Open Web • Basic Internet Security
Translation Open Translation Tools • Video Subtitling
Video Theora Cookbook • Kino • AvideMux • GTranscode • ffmpeg2theora • HandBrake
Free network services FLOSS Manuals • Book Sprints • Wikimedia Commons • Archive.org • Freedom Fone
Free software/open source GSoC Mentoring
Graphic design Digital Foundations • Alchemy • Inkscape • Scribus
3D • Blender
HTML editing • NvU
Blogging WordPress
Media players MPlayer • VLC • Miro
VOIP Linphone
File sharing Azureus
Streaming MuSE • M3W • Icecast
Video subtitling Video Subtitling • Jubler
GNU/Linux GNU/Linux Command-line Intro
Audio editing Audio Production • Ardour • Audacity
Csound Csound
Human Rights OpenEvSys
Book production Booktype • Booki User Guide
Performance UpStage
Collaborative Mapping Openstreetmap

Popularity

Some manuals have been selected for inclusion on the VALO-CD, a collection of the best software for Windows.

References

  1. ^ "License Change". Retrieved 3 October 2010.[dead link]
  2. ^ "Mimoa, Floss Manuals and Beelden uit ons Verleden win Digital Pioneers Academy".[dead link]
  3. ^ "Day 3: Word Count". Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  4. ^ "NLNet".
  5. ^ "Transmediale Awards".
  6. ^ "Texas Linux Fest 2010".
  7. ^ "Read". Retrieved 3 October 2010.