My comments to the reader is in this style (emphasized). Example lines are in plain roman style. Note that extra comments and advice is found in comments within the SGML source.
For various reasons this brand new release is codenamed the release release.
New code names will appear as per industry standard guidelines to emphasize the state-of-the-art-ness of this document.
This document was written when I read a feedback asking for a template to fill in to make new HOWTOs. This template is made by extracting the skeletal structure of the Multi Disk HOWTO which is a rather large HOWTO.
This Template is a suggestion and a starting point, a check list and examples for authors; it is not a requirement to be followed slavishly. Over time HOWTOs might also outgrow any template since in the end the goal is to inform readers efficiently.
Stating the background is a simple way to getting started writing the intro.
First of all we need a bit of legalese. Recent development shows it is quite important.
Copyright is a source of much and continuous debate on the LDP mailing list. For more in depth information please consult the Manifesto at the LinuxDoc site. The purpose of having a license is to allow appropriate distribution. You can use any license that meets the Manifesto. What follows is a boilerplate licence.
This document is Copyright 2000 by John Doe (change to your name). Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license can be found in Appendix A.
Replace with your name, or supply a new license, when you use this template for a new HOWTO.
Use the information in this document at your own risk. I disavow any potential liability for the contents of this document. Use of the concepts, examples, and/or other content of this document is entirely at your own risk.
All copyrights are owned by their owners, unless specifically noted otherwise. Use of a term in this document should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark.
Naming of particular products or brands should not be seen as endorsements.
You are strongly recommended to take a backup of your system before major installation and backups at regular intervals.
This is where you make a summary of what is new. When a HOWTO exceeds 20 pages it takes more than a casual read to find the updates. This is where you help your readers with that, alerting them to specific and important news.
This is the second release featuring more samples and an improved structure.
Tell people where the document home page is so the very newest release could be found in case of problems with the main Linux Documentation Project homepage.
The latest version number of this document can be gleaned from my plan entry if you finger my Nyx account.
If you have the capacity it would be nice to make the HOWTO available in a number of formats.
Also, the latest version of the Template will be available on my web space on Nyx in a number of formats:
Note that paper sizes vary in the world, A4 and US letter differ significantly.
It is always nice to acknowledge people who help you with inputs, it is also regarded by many as important in the Linux world new economy
In this version I have the pleasure of acknowledging
corff (at) ZEDAT.FU-Berlin.DE
dwood (at) plugged.net.au
lcl (at) spiretech.com
kgh12351 (at) nifty.ne.jp
dave (at) lafn.org
name (at) site.org
Scramble the addresses so email harvesters cannot get addresses from your HOWTO and then spam people. That has happened in the past.
Not everyone speaks English, pointers to translations are nice. Also your translators tend to give very important inputs.
someone (at) somewhere.de
someone (at) somewhere.se
someone (at) somewhere.fr
someone (at) somewhere.cn
someone (at) somewhere.it
Also Somecompany is acknowledged for sending me documentation on their gizmos as well as permission to quote from the material. These quotes have been approved before appearing here and will be clearly labelled.
Any comments or suggestions can be mailed to my mail address on Nyx: sgjoen@nyx.net.