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>> 1. Infrastucture to co-ordinate things (mailing list maybe - wiki space to put stuff on) >> 2. Basic structure (go through ECDL syllabus, divide it up, write Linux based answers so we have an idea of what we need?) >> 3. Deciding on scope and focus. >> 4. Maybe getting others involved One thing that is apparent from the threads so far is the varying interpretations of the ECDL syllabus. I think we need to clarify what we're aiming at here. >From my existing experience & involvement with ECDL, I see it as basically platform independent material aimed firmly as computer *users* (as opposed to hobbyists, techies etc.), it's just that existing Courseware authors have chosen Windows as a basis. I've personally been involved in writing both Win9x/Office 97 based Content and WinXP/Office XP Content. From a Linux point of view, we need to think from the *user's* perspective. They will be sat at a Linux computer that's running any combination of Distro, kernel and Desktop. A user will not be interested in console methods or varying distro pros/cons - they just want to use the inteface with a mouse. On that basis we'll need to cater for either Gnome, KDE or both - I'd suggest both. Which brings me neatly to authoring methods. I've mentioned XML/Docbook before and it sounds like people understand the reasons why that's a good idea. I would like to mention now though, a feature of Docbook that allows the management of "dual" Content (ie. Gnome specific and KDE specific content) in the same source XML. Although ECDL is modular, there is a need to ensure that the overall material flows logically - it's not just a matter of setting questions & answering them. This will require a degree of discipline, firm organisation and (controversially?) a single "editor-in-chief" to pull all the content together and well, edit it. I guess that's my input for item 3 (above). For items 1 and 4, I'd suggest setting up a project at Sourceforge, that way we automatically open it up for attracting more authors and has the benefit of using CVS to handle files which will be a boon if large numbers of people are contributing asyncronously. 2. Let's get the technical/infrastructure stuff sorted first. We can soon dive into the actual creative stuff soon enough. It's important the background project management is sorted first though. Item 5 should be Licensing. ie. What sort of license is best? Mart -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG Mail majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe list" in the message body to unsubscribe.