The Computer Technology Documentation Project Membership

Home | Site Organization | Join | Members Section | Link to Us | Sponsors | Contribute
CTDP
This Site Services RESOURCES Other Resources This Site

Membership Information

Conditions of Membership

There are several conditions that all members of this project must accept. These conditions are for the protection of the project and its members. They are also set up to allow for smooth operation of the group. Read the policies page for more information.

  1. Offensive, disruptive, or insulting e-mails on the group e-mail board are not allowed.
  2. The Computer Technology Documentation Project nor any associate or contributing member may be sued by any other member for any reason.
  3. The judgement of CTDP management and/or the members of this project is always accepted with regard to the following:
    1. Your admission as a contributing member.
    2. Payment for sales due to contributions made by you.
  4. You accept the policies listed on the policies page.

This agreement does not remove your copyright rights as a document author to use your documentation as you see fit. If you wish to withdraw a document that is for sale from the project, that is your right so long as you are the sole author. For more information on these issues read the policies page.

By joining and maintaining your membership with this project, you agree to the above conditions.

How to join

To join, point your web browser to egroups TechDocumentation page at:
http://www.egroups.com/group/TechDocumentation.
Apply to our e-mail discussion group at this location. We would like you to include your name when you apply. When approved, you will be a member in a discussion group for the CTDP. You will be able to monitor the activities of the group using this e-mail discussion group. Project postings and other information such as web site update information will be posted here. Upon acceptance, you will be an associate member. You may become a contributing member and fully share in available documentation listed on the services page by one of the following two ways:

  1. Make a reasonable contribution to the project using the procedure below under the policies listed on the policies page.
  2. Qualify as a contributing member by showing significant public contribution outside this project as outlined on the policies page.

The CTDP does not guarantee membership acceptance. Membership may be denied without any stated reason.

How to Contribute

  1. Find an area in which you would like to make a contribution through one of the following methods:
    1. Check the goals and status sections of this web page periodically. There are goals for the project posted there. Also in the status section, you may want to volunteer to help finish a document or project.
    2. Watch the e-mails from the discussion group. Any member may suggest a project in the discussion group. A member may ask for help on a project in this discussion group.
    3. Propose your own project. Perhaps a project you are interested in or a technological area you want to work with is not listed as one of our goals. Don't hesitate to suggest a new area. If you don't want to write a document, here are some more choices and ideas:
      1. Check out a software package, or operating system such as a version of Linux and write a report on your findings.
      2. Write editorials to be posted on the website.
      3. Generate some graphics that may be used on the web and submit them for posting on the website.
      Keep in mind that the goal is to give users of this website advice and guidance with regard to technical issues and products to help them save time and make sound decisions.
    4. Make various contributions in areas such as articles or editorials. Post information or articles about new technologies or technical issues that are developing.
  2. Decide if this will be an item you would like to sell or contribute for free access and use. Also decide if you wish to consider this item, your personal property or release it to the "public domain". See the policies page for more information.
  3. Volunteer to do the contribution - This is a necessary step for large projects since we do not want members to waste time duplicating each other's efforts. It is necessary to coordinate the activities of the project for maximum efficiency. This step is not required for the submission of articles, editorials, graphic, or small or already existing programs.
    1. Submit your proposal using the egroups mail discussion group. All members will see mail sent through this media.
    2. There may be some group discussion about your proposal, in the form of suggestions from various members.
    3. Ultimately your project will likely be approved, or if not approved it will be likely that it would be duplication of effort. If this is the case you would be encouraged to join an already existing project.
  4. Work on your project - You may work with other members on the project so project discussions may be sent through the groups forum or directly to various members. If too much traffic occurs due to project work we will look into forming sub mail groups for various projects or technologies at that time.
  5. Submit your item. If it is free for distribution, it may be e-mailed using the egroups mail discussion group unless the size is very large (over 200K). If it is for sale and use of contributing members, you may contact us at our contact page and we gill give you further instructions. Depending on the type of item one or more of the following may be done.
    1. It may be proof read by another member.
    2. Once your project is submitted, its document format may be adjusted to maximise its useablity. It may be converted from one format to some other format such as SGML or HTML so it can be posted on the web. You may do this step yourself is you desire.
    3. It will be added to the CTDP database and made available to customers and contributing members.
  6. If you are not yet a contributing member your effort will be considered by one or more contributing members to determine if you should be made a contributing member. At this point the following must be considered.
    1. Fairness to you, considering the effort you made.
    2. Fairness to other contributing members. Your effort should show reasonable willingness to support the project. It would be unfair to contributing members who write long technical documents to allow someone full membership based on a single short article.
    3. At this point you should be aware this is a judgement call.

Associate Members

Associate members will be allowed to see and recommend project postings through the e-mail discussion group. They may volunteer for any approved projects, and may work alone or with other members. Associate members may be dismissed from the CTDP for any reason at the discretion of it's management, or a member may loose interest and withdraw membership. Normally membership would not be withdrawn by the CTDP without good reason. Associate members may be given access to uncompleted documentation at the discretion of CTDP management to aid in the development of certain projects. Associate members are not given a refund of any service purchases they have made until they become contributing members.

Contributing members

Associate members may become contributing members of the CTDP by making some significant contribution to the project or by showing other qualifications. See the policies page for information about qualifying. A significant contribution includes but may not be limited to a contribution of labor as part of a documentation task. Once this occurs membership cannot be withdrawn without good reason since the member now has a vested interest in the CTDP. See the policies page for information about the withdrawal of a contributing member. Contributing members qualify for leadership or management roles at the discretion of the upper CTDP management. Contributing members will receive a full refund of any CTDP service purchases they have made within the last year. Contributing members will hold the copyright, or a portion of it, on the documentation they have written. Contributing members may receive some compensation for services, or royalties at the discretion of the CTDP management.

Project Management

The project managers of the CTDP will take suggestions for projects and will approve projects for implementation. This is needed to avoid duplication of effort, ensure coordination, and maximize efficiency of the group. Project managers may be given authority over various technical areas.

Benefits to contributing members

  1. Full access for no charge to all completed and uncompleted documentation. Refund of any purchases of CTDP documentation if the purchase was made within one year of achieving contributing membership status.
  2. Possible compensation for services at the discretion of the CTDP management.
  3. Qualification for leadership or management roles at the discretion of the upper CTDP management. (This only means more work!)

How do I tell what documentation is available?

By reading the CTDP website. Available documentation is described on the CTDP website on the services page. All documents not listed on this page is free and is posted on the CTDP website under the appropriate category for the technology.

As a contributing member, how do I get full access to available documentation?

Associate members have access to documentation on the CTDP website. Currently there is no method to get documentation to contributing members without them requesting it and sending it as an an e-mail attachment. Eventually, we may set up an alternate website address or section that has password protected access for full members.