FOSS DOCS 101 - Keep It Simple, Present

Explore the fundamentals of technical communication for open-source projects in this EuroPython Conference talk. Learn how to improve documentation for better user onboarding, code contribution workflows, and overall project accessibility. Discover key principles including tone, style, process management, structure, and contribution workflows. Gain insights into content strategy, understanding user needs, error message crafting, and community engagement. Examine the evolution of documentation practices, the importance of a unified tool chain, continuous integration for docs, and strategies for content curation. Understand when to consider hiring a dedicated technical writer and how to foster a documentation-centric culture within your project.

Intro
Mikeys background
Help desk
Why documentation
How documentation used to be
How to help a software project
Pros
Join the Docs Club
Content Strategy
Users
What do they want
When do they need it
Error messages
Why
Bugs
Who are you
Administrator
Developers
Arch Linux Wiki
Red Hat
Working on new guides
DevOps for docs
Unified tool chain
Continuous integration
Content curation
Community engagement
Outreach efforts
Example
Templates
Collaboration
Documentation conferences
Everyone can care
QA Questions
Organizational Position
When to hire a writer