Re: [DOCS] Business Plan for PostgreSQL book?

Well Henery, the collaborative book idea is dead.
But, here are my comments anyway. BTW, I didn't
get your e-mail... is there a "docs" list and not
a "pgsql-docs" list? If so, where are the archives?

On Thu, 14 Oct 1999, Henery B. Hotz wrote:
> >Then, as people contribute, their time is tracked
> >against these components. Right now, for instance,
> >you have a book-outline project which people are
> >working on; it could be decided that the book-outline
> >sub contract is worth ".5%" of the book ownership.
> >Then, as people track their time against these
> >sub-contracts, a summary (once a week) is presented
> >to you (the owner of the contract) for approval
> >of their hours.
>
> The way this is normally done is to do a page or word count
> of the finished product. Each author owns a "chapter". The
> editor negotiates with the publisher and takes a cut off
> the top. Counting time is a bad idea IMHO.
> Too much uncertainty and inequity.

I don't believe this is the case at all. For two reasons:

1. When someone decides they want to contribute, their hours
can be multipled by a factor commensurate with their
relevant expeience. This multiplier can be wrong at first,
but as the project moves along, the owner of the contract will
have insentive to "promote" the multiplier for those who have
really demonstrated that they are valid contributors.
This will work out organically... besides most people will
be very honest and submit a multiplier commensurate with their
experience. The (nonexistent?) few that don't will be quickly
identified... it really isn't all that hard.

2. If someone logs a ton of hours and tries to get them approved,
the contract owner would have a good laugh and simply deny the
hours. I doubt this would happen in reality; in fact you might
have the opposite problem -- people not turning in an adequate
reflection of the time they have spent.

As for counting words or basing it on chapters -- this really limits
the ability of the vast number of contributers to feel like they
are a part of the process. A tiny, but juicy kernel of wisdom is
worth a ton.

Pity nobody want's to do it. Oh well. We all have such
little faith in other people. Damn shame.

Clark