CURRENT_MEETING_REPORT_ Reported by Ellen Hoffman/Merit Minutes of the User Documents Revisions Working Group (USERDOC2) Current Working Group Activities The USERDOC2 Working Group has completed two FYI RFC efforts since the last IETF. The new FYIs are: o FYI 19: ``Introducing the Internet--A Short Bibliography of Introductory Internetworking Readings for the Network Novice'' by Ellen Hoffman and Lenore Jackson. o FYI 20: ``What is the Internet?'' by Ed Krol and Ellen Hoffman. The on-line files associated with FYI 19 are archived in ``Introducing the Internet,'' along with newer materials that are of interest to beginning users. These archives can be accessed by e-mail, FTP, Gopher, and WAIS, as well as dial-up for those lacking Internet connectivity. Four sites currently maintain copies of the archive, and volunteers were requested for other sites willing to duplicate the files. For additional information on the archive, send an e-mail message to nis-info@merit.edu with the text, ``send access.guide'' in the body of the message. Open Forum on Documentation Activities The discussion began with a presentation by Bert Stals. He described the work of the User Documentation Task Force, a sub-group of the RARE Information Services and User Support Working Group (ISUS). Their goal is to produce documentation for end users on an introductory and intermediate level, without duplicating other efforts such as User-Doc. Their first project is a set of one-pagers, each on a separate applications topic (gopher, e-mail, WAIS, WWW, archie, file transfer, Mailbase). Bert noted user support staff could use the text in their own documentation series (using their own house-style). Alternatively, simple formatted versions of the pamphlet will be available for those who wish to use them directly in several formats, including ASCII text and WordPerfect files. The working group maintains a mailing list for those interested. To join, send to: mailbase@mailbase.ac.uk with the text: subscribe rare-userdoc your_firsname your_lastname 1 Bert also described a cooperative project with EARN to update the first edition of EARN's ``Guide to Network Resource Tools.'' Ellen Hoffman asked for comments regarding whether the IETF should get documentation translated into other languages. The discussion raised several points, including concerns that introductory rather than technical information was the area most in need of translation as most technical people understand English. David Sitman (EARNInfo Officer) said that in his experience people were unwilling to translate documents but were more comfortable creating their own. He also suggested that documentation written in the US tended to be chatty which made it more difficult for non-native English speakers. Issues were also raised about when documentation is effective and the amount of effort required to produce it. Jill Foster noted that there are various levels of documentation, and that each has its own requirements. On-Going Projects The next project is a revision of RFC 1175, the long bibliography. The goal is to have a fairly complete draft by the next IETF. A revised charter will be posted (currently the file where the charter should be is empty---a situation the chairs will work on correcting after the meeting). Ellen noted that she would like to include non-English introductory texts in the bibliography. Suggestions for materials to include should be sent to her. Attendees Jodi-Ann Chu jodi@uhunix.uhcc.hawaii.edu Henry Clark henryc@oar.net Klaus Fueller klausf@osgo.ks.he.schule.de Ben Geerlings ben.geerlings@surfnet.nl Ellen Hoffman ellen@merit.edu Nandor Horvath horvath@sztaki.hu Per Jacobsen p.h.jacobsen@usit.uio.no Dennis Jennings jennings@irlearn.ucd.ie Ola Johansson ojn@tip.net April Marine april@atlas.arc.nasa.gov Chuck McManis chuck.mcmanis@eng.sun.com Pushpendra Mohta pushp@cerf.net Lisa Nielsen lisa@hawaii.edu Joyce K. Reynolds jkrey@isi.edu Ulla Sandberg ulla@kiera.ericsson.se Jennifer Sellers sellers@nsipo.nasa.gov David Sitman a79vm.tau.ac.il Patricia Smith psmith@merit.edu Milan Sova sova@feld.cvut.cz Bert Stals bert.stals@surfnet.nl Marc van der Noordaa noordaa@rare.nl 2