The first Manchester-based Write the Docs workshop was a huge success.
We had eight people attend who all wanted to learn more about documentation – specifically the version-control platform GitHub.
I hosted it along with my co-organiser Deborah Barnard. Together we run Write the Docs North England.
Learning about GitHub
GitHub is already a very popular tool for developers. Now, more and more people are expected to use GitHub in their daily workflows.
Others are interested in becoming more confident and proficient with technical tools, either for personal interest or to help them become qualified get a new job.
During the workshop, we initially had technical difficulties with the projector which decided to give up on us. We freestyled it by getting everyone onto the example repository and contributing an example issue.
It would have been even better to have had a real open source project for people to contribute documentation towards. This is something to note for next time.
Contributing to open source
Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to create our own project. As nobody had brought a project they were interested in, we focused on getting people comfortable with the GitHub platform.
We dealt with some common confusions about the Git workflow, the difference between commits and pull requests, and the difference between all the Git platforms. A couple of people were introduced to the field of technical writing for the first time.
It was good to have a group of attendees with a range of backgrounds and abilities. We had technical writers, non-coders, new developers and seasoned engineers. The diversity of perspectives showed me that everyone struggles with similar problems and we can all help each other.
People mentioned that they benefited from the series of blog posts I wrote about getting started with open source documentation as a non-developer.
Getting free event space
An excellent topic for the meetup organisers to cover in the future is how to obtain free event space for an ongoing meetup.
I know some meetup organisers who have managed to secure great spaces for their meetups, but I can’t see the next steps for how I could go about doing the same for Write the Docs North.
Community groups are frequently fostered by local businesses but it’s not clear how you can find free space.
I also don’t know how you can qualify as a community group. Ideally you’d already have an affiliation where you could take advantage of an office space – for example if your employer may be willing to offer space.
Companies in the technology industries are often willing to offer their space for the chance to gain exposure to a technology community. Write the Docs probably falls into this category.
Next steps for Write the Docs North
We’re looking forward to doing some more workshops soon, and next time we will be hosting a meetup in Bradford.
I like the format of changing locations for each meetup (between Manchester, Bradford and Leeds, all within several dozen miles of each other) because it makes things more interesting for me, and I like travelling around the northwest.
Also, many people in my area do not live in a city centre or find it easy to get there. They live in places where they could travel to a number of different cities. Generally, people seem to want workshops and to learn about the basics of documentation, so we will try to offer more of this in the future.
A key takeaway is that many people are interested in practical learning about GitHub, coding, and documentation. Other Write the Docs meetups might benefit from hosting similar workshops.
Next month (October) is the annual Hacktoberfest, which would be a great time to host a coding-related workshop.
Contact me using the website form if you’re interested in getting involved with Write the Docs North 🙂
