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I've tried Nix/Nixos a few times over the past years and at some point decided that the documentation was bad enough that any further tinkering would be a waste

I've tried Nix/Nixos a few times over the past years and at some point decided that the documentation was bad enough that any further tinkering would be a waste of my time. So, when it was announced that a group of users would be making a concerted effort to improve the documentation I was hopeful, but looking at this thread--in which Determinate Systems (or one of their employees) is blamed for running roughshod over other contributors--I'm not anymore: https://discourse.nixos.org/t/parting-from-the-documentation-team/24900 https://discourse.nixos.org/t/parting-from-the-documentation...

pxc 4y ago
It's true that trust and respect between people who have poured themselves into Nix, NixOS and Nixpkgs was seriously damaged, and that this set the Nix documentation efforts back. However, the documentation team still exists and meets— there are still people dedicating much effort to improving the official and community documentation in a concerted way. I feel that those events are more an interpersonal wound internal to the community than they are the death knell for the overall effort to renew the Nix ecosystem's documentation, or a sign that Determinate Systems is not at all invested in the health and integrity of the community and its volunteer organizations. I think turning wholly pessimistic about those things at this point would be a big overcorrection.
- xhevahir 4y ago
  No one said it's a death knell. I'm saying that the documentation has sucked for a long time, and that I'm not hopeful enough of its improvement that I would be willing to do the considerable work to overcome the shoddiness of the manuals, the many contradictory tutorials, etc.
JamesSwift 4y ago
Thanks for linking that. It was a pretty interesting read, one that I hadn't come across before. Has me seeing things slightly differently, and will keep it in mind when viewing future efforts.

pxc 4y ago

It's true that trust and respect between people who have poured themselves into Nix, NixOS and Nixpkgs was seriously damaged, and that this set the Nix documentation efforts back. However, the documentation team still exists and meets— there are still people dedicating much effort to improving the official and community documentation in a concerted way. I feel that those events are more an interpersonal wound internal to the community than they are the death knell for the overall effort to renew the Nix ecosystem's documentation, or a sign that Determinate Systems is not at all invested in the health and integrity of the community and its volunteer organizations. I think turning wholly pessimistic about those things at this point would be a big overcorrection.

xhevahir 4y ago
No one said it's a death knell. I'm saying that the documentation has sucked for a long time, and that I'm not hopeful enough of its improvement that I would be willing to do the considerable work to overcome the shoddiness of the manuals, the many contradictory tutorials, etc.

JamesSwift 4y ago

Thanks for linking that. It was a pretty interesting read, one that I hadn't come across before. Has me seeing things slightly differently, and will keep it in mind when viewing future efforts.