Re: [gfsd]The Free Software Directory and helping out.

[Janet Casey]

   I would like to help out in the area of The Free Software Directory.  How
   can I help?

Great! Thank you for volunteering!

There are two ways you can help: one, by writing up packages. This is
particularly good me people who have limited or varying amounts of
time, since you can write up as many or as few packages as you
like. See http://www.gnu.org/directory/help.html

Two: if you're more technically inclined, there's several things that
need work. We would love to have a Web interface to the Directory, so
that maintainers can enter/modify their packages themselves and all I
would have to do is check them.

Also, the interface needs work. I'm assuming you've looked at the
Directory and know what I mean. We will not be doing anything fancy--
that's not our style; we have lots of overseas users for whom
bandwidth is either expensive, or slow, or both; and besides we just
don't need it--sorry, no animated multicolor gnus <g>). But
definite improvements can be made in the presentation to make the
Directory easier to read and use. 

Back end work: we will soon be integrating the Directory with our
current software page, and there are various other changes that will
be made in the way the information is processed to help generate
information for other parts of the GNU site. I include a good bit of
information in each Directory entry, and there's other areas of the
site that could benefit from this.

Tell me what you areas of interest are and where your technical skills
lie and I'm sure we can put you to good use! Also, you can get CVS
access if you need it. And thanks again for your help!




Janet Casey
Free Software Foundation
http://www.gnu.org
address@hidden