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I think the simpler answer is that most people who complain about documentation cannot improve the docs because they don't know how. If they did understand what
by hysan 13y ago
I think the simpler answer is that most people who complain about documentation cannot improve the docs because they don't know how. If they did understand what was being explained in the documentation, they wouldn't be complaining in the first place.
- randallsquared 13y agoThis is actually the same answer: when they finally learn enough to fix the documentation, there is no longer any personal benefit to doing so.
- mst 13y agoThis is why my projects have always been willing to cut a deal with newbies to exchange stupid question credits for doc patches - i.e. "if you feel X is underdocumented, the core team will happily give you a personal tour of X provided you write up the results for the next guy to read" - which tends to help the incentive problem.
- hysan 13y agoI was trying to make the distinction between those who get to the level of competence of contributing vs those who don't reach that point. The former group being people who don't complain about the docs (or at least not as loudly) while the latter group does. But I guess I didn't get that across clearly, sorry.