I would suggest that we *not* even have a chapter on the terminal [chapter 7]. Defer it to the advanced section , where it would serve as an introduction to the terminal usage.
For a few reasons: - There is a profound fear among new users that Linux==terminal knowledge is a must. Not mentioning the terminal or giving it importance in the simple guide will ease the user's fear a bit. - Since it is just an intro to the terminal , something which we dont want a user to use. Why introduce it? As mentioning it here makes it seem it is something the user needs to know about. - One of the desktop goals is to purge sudo from the desktop > https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/security-karmic-no-sudo -- Ordering of content might need some tweaking https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/504668 You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Manual Team, which is a bug assignee. Status in Ubuntu Manual: In Progress Bug description: I have been taking a look at our current TOC and am wondering whether it needs to be tweaked slightly. My concern is that we will be asking users to open a terminal and type commands within the first six chapters, however it is not until chapter 7 that we have an 'introduction to the terminal' that explains what it is and what sudo means etc. This doesn't make sense to me and could be confusing/offputting to a beginner. My suggestion is this: 1. Rename chapter 6 to simply "Updates and Upgrades", and remove the section on "system maintenance". 2. Rename chapter 7 to "System Maintenance", and make the content on system maintenance (that was in chapter 6) a new subsection of chapter 7, following the 'introduction to the terminal' subsection. That way, I think we could almost get away with not using the command line at all for the entire first part of the manual, as it's mostly gui-based stuff. Then when the reader gets to part II - advanced, the first thing they read is an introduction to the terminal. Hope that all made sense. Anyone have any other suggestions? _______________________________________________ Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-manual Post to : ubuntu-manual@lists.launchpad.net Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-manual More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
