Editorial Preface for the DITA Help Technology Guide

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 () or Tony 

  Self (). 

March 16, 2009

 

Stan Doherty
Editor, DITA Help Technologies Guide
Secretary, DITA TC Help Subcommitee
Member, DITA TC