The TYPO3 Documentation Team started with the creation of a new official documentation for the TYPO3 project: the TYPO3 Maintenance Guide. In this early state of the project, we are still looking for some help; this is your chance to contribute!
Hundreds of thousands websites are powered by TYPO3 CMS. According to the statistics on sourceforge.net, TYPO3 CMS 4.5 LTS has been downloaded over 1,200,000 times since its release in early 2011. It is clear that not every of these downloads became a running TYPO3 website but a significant number of installations needs to be operated over a long time, maybe years, and often updated from one TYPO3 core version to another.
Every CMS powered website or web application requires some kind of maintenance. Creating new backend user accounts, installing security updates or implementing small design changes are just a few examples. This is an ongoing process and can be time consuming or frustrating - especially if a good maintenance strategy has not been implemented.
Did you ever come across a TYPO3 site, where the previous developers put the same TypoScript code on every page? Frustrating, isn't it? How do you manage your backend user accounts and groups? Do you have a proven strategy? Do you know the best practise of setting up workspaces?
The TYPO3 project already offers great documentations: you find useful code snippets, video tutorials for editors, a Wiki full of information, as well as detailed technical specifications, and other stuff in the <link documentation you>TYPO3 Documentation Center.
However,
a documentation that sheds light on TYPO3's recommended set up from a maintenance perspective is still missing. The "TYPO3 Installation and Upgrade Guide" (doc_guide_install) describes the steps needed to install TYPO3 CMS, covers the basic directory hierarchy, and the installation procedure; but it does not describe how to maintain a TYPO3 CMS instance on an ongoing basis.
The idea of creating a guide for ongoing daily tasks was born back in 2010. In June this year (after a long time of inactivity) the Documentation Team decided to resurrect this project and Michael Schams took over the role of the Project Leader. He coordinated the collaboration between the Documentation and the Security Team last year and authored and published the TYPO3 Security Guide. Together with Christopher Stelmaszyk (Documentation Team) he is keen on leading the project.
<link http: forge.typo3.org projects typo3v4-doc_guide_maintenance>
forge.typo3.org/projects/typo3v4-doc_guide_maintenance/
The project team currently consists of about 10 highly motivated individuals with various backgrounds and Michael and the TYPO3 Documentation Team are still looking for enthusiasts, who want to be engaged with the creation of this TYPO3 CMS documentation.
In other words:
this is YOUR chance to contribute to the TYPO3 project, even if you are not a PHP programmer. Note that nobody expects that someone writes the whole document: TYPO3 inspires people to share - in this case it means we share the work load. There are several tasks involved in authoring an official documentation: planning, writing, creating screenshots, reviewing, proofreading, etc.
Everyone who is interested should contact the project leaders <link http: schams.net contact in touch with>Michael and/or <link the documentation>Christopher or send an email to the <link http: lists.typo3.org cgi-bin mailman listinfo typo3-project-documentation us a line in the mailing>TYPO3 Documentation mailing list.
The good thing is, you do not need to be a developer to contribute to this initiative! Even if you are not a hardcore system administrator or a native English speaker, but you are keen on writing documents or at least want to share your experience in operating a stable and easy-to-maintain TYPO3 CMS website, you are welcome to express your interest.
