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 <h1>NetBeans Community Docs Program Reaches Milestone:<br />200 Contributions (and Counting!)</h1>

 <div class="callout">
 <q>There are a lot of people in the community who really want to help others learn.</q>
 </div>

 <p class="lead">An important milestone for the NetBeans Community Docs program was reached on
 August 7, 2008 when it received its 200th contribution. The program, managed by NetBeans
 documentation writer and blogger James Branam, has managed to attract more than
 80 NetBeans users and enthusiasts to provide tutorials, screencasts, and other
 learning materials for the purpose of helping to inspire and support the NetBeans
 user community. Says Branam, <q>You might say it's documentation <em>by</em> the
 community <em>for</em> the community.</q></p>

 <div class="photobox">
 <img id="jbranam" src="../../images_www/articles/nbcd200-jamesbranam.jpg" alt="James Branam" title="" />
 <p class="caption">James Branam manages the NetBeans<br />Community Docs Program</p>
 </div>

 <p>The Community Docs program started a year and a half ago and has grown
 tremendously. <q>Response to the program has been nothing less than overwhelming,</q>
 says Branam. <q>There are a lot of people in the community who really want to help
 others learn.</q></p>

 <p>In addtion to the tutorials and screencasts mentioned above, contributors also
 provide FAQs and technical articles, as well as tips and tricks for use by other
 community members. It also serves as a resource for documentation on the official
 <a href="https://netbeans.org/">netbeans.org</a> web site, where contributions
 from the program have been included in the learning trails. In some cases,
 community-contributed docs have been turned into official NetBeans documentation.</p>

 <p>With  (at last count) 82 active contributors, some have obviously contributed
 more than once, and one person has contributed more than ten times. <q>The rate of
 returning contributors indicates that contributors are satisfied by the way their
 contributions are being showcased to the rest of the community,</q> says Branam, who
 has managed the program since its inception.</p>

 <h2>Upward Trend in Community Participation</h2>

 <div class="callout">
 <q>It is our job to ensure that each contributor gets the proper recognition for
 their contribution.</q>
 </div>

 <p>In addition to maintaining the program, Branam pores over NetBeans user blogs
 and similar sites, taking note of entries that might qualify as contributions to
 the pool of NetBeans knowlege. He often solicits these users to contribute their
 know-how to the program by submitting an article. He also works closely with Varun
 Nischal, the contribution coordinator, and Amit Kumar Saha, the content manager
 for the program. Both assist Branam in maintaining the level of content quality
 in submitted documentation.</p>

 <p>Both Saha (who has recently been employed by Sun Microsystems) and Nischal blog
 regularly. Nischal has been particularly active as contributor, also re-designing
 the wiki page and the archives. In addition, he is the most frequent blogger about
 the program, according to Branam.</p>

 <p><q>It is our job to ensure that each contributor gets the proper recognition for
 their contribution.</q> Branam adds, <q>My colleagues Amit and Varun have been very
 important in sustaining the momentum of the program.</q></p>

 <div class="photobox">
 <img
     src="../../images_www/articles/nbcd200-comdoxgrowth.png"
     alt="NetBeans Community Dox Contributions Upward Trend" title="" />
 </div>

 <p>That the program has momentum is clear from the accompanying chart, showing a
 mostly consistent upward trend since the program began. If Branam's projections
 hold true, August will mark the program's second record month in a row. (At the
 time of this writing, Community Docs had already received its 208th contribution.)</p>

 <p>In addition, the program has just launched an official weekly newsletter.
 It serves to highlight the most recent contributed docs, presents the topmost
 contributor of the week, and reports news of interest to the docs community. Any
 articles that are provided by Dream Team members are pointed out, and one item is
 chosen for special mention in the Spotlight of the Week.</p>

 <p>In addition, the program currently has its own blog, mailing list, and wiki
   (see <q>Further Reading</q> below). Plans are being made for a NetBeans plugin to aid in the
 formatting and creation of various kinds docs to help contributors to the program
 achieve a certain level of quality and consistency. Also, plans are being laid for
 an evangelism program aimed at encouraging even more contributions.</p>

 <h2>Further Reading</h2>

 <p>
 <a href="http://wiki.netbeans.org/CommunityDocs">NetBeans Community Docs Wiki</a><br />
 <a href="http://nb-community-docs.blogspot.com/">NetBeans Community Docs Blog</a><br />
 <a href="http://wiki.netbeans.org/CommunityDocs_Contributions">Docs Archive</a><br />
 <a href="http://blogs.sun.com/branajam">James Branam's Blog</a><br />
 <a href="http://nb-community-docs.blogspot.com/search/label/Weekly">NetBeans Community Docs Newsletter</a><br />
 <a href="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailverifySubmit?feedId=2334234">NetBeans Community Docs Newsletter Subscribe</a><br />
 Mailing List: <a href="mailto:dev@usersguide.netbeans.org">dev@usersguide.netbeans.org</a>
 </p>

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	<html>

	<head>
	<title>Netbeans Community Docs' 200th Contribution</title>
	<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />
	<meta name="author" content="lloyd.dunn@sun.com">
	<meta name="description" content="
	NetBeans Community Docs Reaches Milestone of 200 Contributions
	">
	<meta name="keywords" content="
	NetBeans, IDE, integrated development environment, Community Docs, documentation
	">
	<link href="../../../netbeans.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" />
	<style type="text/css">
	h1,h2{
	font-family: serif;
	font-size: 2em;
	line-height: 150%;
	}
	h2 {
	font-size: 1.6em;
	margin: 1em 0;
	}
	.photobox {
	float: left;
	padding: .5em 1em 1em 0;
	}
	p.caption {
	margin: 3px 0;
	font-size: .75em;
	}

	img#jbranam {
	border: 1px solid #d1d1d1;
	}

	p { line-height: 1.5em; }
	p.lead {
	margin: 2em 0 0 0;
	font-size: 1.1em;
	}

	.callout {
	font-family: serif;
	color: #ee6b00;
	border-left: 1px solid #d1d1d1;
	width: 180px;
	float: right;
	padding: .25em 1em .75em 1em;
	margin: .5em 0 .5em 1em;
	font-size: 1.5em;
	}

	.infobox {
	width: 180px;
	border-left: 1px solid #d1d1d1;
	float: right;
	padding: 0 1em .75em 1em;
	margin: .5em 0 .5em 1em;
	}
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	color: #ee6b00;
	margin: .7em 0 .3em 0;
	padding: 0 0 3px 0;
	border-bottom: 1px solid #d1d1d1; }
	.infobox li { margin: 0 0 0 -2em; }

	q:before { content:"“";}
	q:after { content:"”";}

	</style>
	</head>

	<body>

	<h1>NetBeans Community Docs Program Reaches Milestone:<br />200 Contributions (and Counting!)</h1>

	<div class="callout">
	<q>There are a lot of people in the community who really want to help others learn.</q>
	</div>

	<p class="lead">An important milestone for the NetBeans Community Docs program was reached on
	August 7, 2008 when it received its 200th contribution. The program, managed by NetBeans
	documentation writer and blogger James Branam, has managed to attract more than
	80 NetBeans users and enthusiasts to provide tutorials, screencasts, and other
	learning materials for the purpose of helping to inspire and support the NetBeans
	user community. Says Branam, <q>You might say it's documentation <em>by</em> the
	community <em>for</em> the community.</q></p>

	<div class="photobox">
	<img id="jbranam" src="../../images_www/articles/nbcd200-jamesbranam.jpg" alt="James Branam" title="" />
	<p class="caption">James Branam manages the NetBeans<br />Community Docs Program</p>
	</div>

	<p>The Community Docs program started a year and a half ago and has grown
	tremendously. <q>Response to the program has been nothing less than overwhelming,</q>
	says Branam. <q>There are a lot of people in the community who really want to help
	others learn.</q></p>

	<p>In addtion to the tutorials and screencasts mentioned above, contributors also
	provide FAQs and technical articles, as well as tips and tricks for use by other
	community members. It also serves as a resource for documentation on the official
	<a href="https://netbeans.org/">netbeans.org</a> web site, where contributions
	from the program have been included in the learning trails. In some cases,
	community-contributed docs have been turned into official NetBeans documentation.</p>

	<p>With (at last count) 82 active contributors, some have obviously contributed
	more than once, and one person has contributed more than ten times. <q>The rate of
	returning contributors indicates that contributors are satisfied by the way their
	contributions are being showcased to the rest of the community,</q> says Branam, who
	has managed the program since its inception.</p>

	<h2>Upward Trend in Community Participation</h2>

	<div class="callout">
	<q>It is our job to ensure that each contributor gets the proper recognition for
	their contribution.</q>
	</div>

	<p>In addition to maintaining the program, Branam pores over NetBeans user blogs
	and similar sites, taking note of entries that might qualify as contributions to
	the pool of NetBeans knowlege. He often solicits these users to contribute their
	know-how to the program by submitting an article. He also works closely with Varun
	Nischal, the contribution coordinator, and Amit Kumar Saha, the content manager
	for the program. Both assist Branam in maintaining the level of content quality
	in submitted documentation.</p>

	<p>Both Saha (who has recently been employed by Sun Microsystems) and Nischal blog
	regularly. Nischal has been particularly active as contributor, also re-designing
	the wiki page and the archives. In addition, he is the most frequent blogger about
	the program, according to Branam.</p>

	<p><q>It is our job to ensure that each contributor gets the proper recognition for
	their contribution.</q> Branam adds, <q>My colleagues Amit and Varun have been very
	important in sustaining the momentum of the program.</q></p>

	<div class="photobox">
	<img
	src="../../images_www/articles/nbcd200-comdoxgrowth.png"
	alt="NetBeans Community Dox Contributions Upward Trend" title="" />
	</div>

	<p>That the program has momentum is clear from the accompanying chart, showing a
	mostly consistent upward trend since the program began. If Branam's projections
	hold true, August will mark the program's second record month in a row. (At the
	time of this writing, Community Docs had already received its 208th contribution.)</p>

	<p>In addition, the program has just launched an official weekly newsletter.
	It serves to highlight the most recent contributed docs, presents the topmost
	contributor of the week, and reports news of interest to the docs community. Any
	articles that are provided by Dream Team members are pointed out, and one item is
	chosen for special mention in the Spotlight of the Week.</p>

	<p>In addition, the program currently has its own blog, mailing list, and wiki
	(see <q>Further Reading</q> below). Plans are being made for a NetBeans plugin to aid in the
	formatting and creation of various kinds docs to help contributors to the program
	achieve a certain level of quality and consistency. Also, plans are being laid for
	an evangelism program aimed at encouraging even more contributions.</p>

	<h2>Further Reading</h2>

	<p>
	<a href="http://wiki.netbeans.org/CommunityDocs">NetBeans Community Docs Wiki</a><br />
	<a href="http://nb-community-docs.blogspot.com/">NetBeans Community Docs Blog</a><br />
	<a href="http://wiki.netbeans.org/CommunityDocs_Contributions">Docs Archive</a><br />
	<a href="http://blogs.sun.com/branajam">James Branam's Blog</a><br />
	<a href="http://nb-community-docs.blogspot.com/search/label/Weekly">NetBeans Community Docs Newsletter</a><br />
	<a href="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailverifySubmit?feedId=2334234">NetBeans Community Docs Newsletter Subscribe</a><br />
	Mailing List: <a href="mailto:dev@usersguide.netbeans.org">dev@usersguide.netbeans.org</a>
	</p>

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	</html>