From 3575fc337d8e43a26225f875cab47950ae99b97c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: John Kristensen Date: Sat, 5 Mar 2016 00:32:44 +1100 Subject: [PATCH] Initial port of user manual to Sphinx A port of the existing user manual over to reStructuredText and using Sphinx to generate the documentation to see if it would be a suitable replacement for the existing php generated method. --- .gitignore | 2 + README.sphinx | 22 +++ docs/Makefile | 216 +++++++++++++++++++++ docs/conf.py | 287 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ docs/index.rst | 24 +++ docs/make.bat | 263 +++++++++++++++++++++++++ docs/user/exploring_the_network.rst | 149 +++++++++++++++ docs/user/getting_started.rst | 247 ++++++++++++++++++++++++ docs/user/hashtags_and_groups.rst | 154 +++++++++++++++ docs/user/index.rst | 12 ++ docs/user/what_is_gnu_social.rst | 40 ++++ requirements.txt | 1 + 12 files changed, 1417 insertions(+) create mode 100644 README.sphinx create mode 100644 docs/Makefile create mode 100644 docs/conf.py create mode 100644 docs/index.rst create mode 100644 docs/make.bat create mode 100644 docs/user/exploring_the_network.rst create mode 100644 docs/user/getting_started.rst create mode 100644 docs/user/hashtags_and_groups.rst create mode 100644 docs/user/index.rst create mode 100644 docs/user/what_is_gnu_social.rst create mode 100644 requirements.txt diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore index 172476d..ac87bb8 100644 --- a/.gitignore +++ b/.gitignore @@ -1,3 +1,5 @@ +docs/_build/ rendered/ +venv/ *~ .*.swp diff --git a/README.sphinx b/README.sphinx new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ae72645 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.sphinx @@ -0,0 +1,22 @@ +Install Sphinx +-------------- +Install Sphinx from Debian repositories: + + apt-get install python-sphinx + +Install Sphinx using virtualenv (assumes virtualenv is already installed): + + virtualenv venv + source venv/bin/activate + pip install -r requirements.txt + + +Build Documentation +------------------- +The documentation can be generated using the following commands + + cd docs/ + make html + +The documentation should now be available in `_build/` directory under the +`docs/` directory. diff --git a/docs/Makefile b/docs/Makefile new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c7e2e63 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/Makefile @@ -0,0 +1,216 @@ +# Makefile for Sphinx documentation +# + +# You can set these variables from the command line. +SPHINXOPTS = +SPHINXBUILD = sphinx-build +PAPER = +BUILDDIR = _build + +# User-friendly check for sphinx-build +ifeq ($(shell which $(SPHINXBUILD) >/dev/null 2>&1; echo $$?), 1) +$(error The '$(SPHINXBUILD)' command was not found. Make sure you have Sphinx installed, then set the SPHINXBUILD environment variable to point to the full path of the '$(SPHINXBUILD)' executable. Alternatively you can add the directory with the executable to your PATH. If you don't have Sphinx installed, grab it from http://sphinx-doc.org/) +endif + +# Internal variables. +PAPEROPT_a4 = -D latex_paper_size=a4 +PAPEROPT_letter = -D latex_paper_size=letter +ALLSPHINXOPTS = -d $(BUILDDIR)/doctrees $(PAPEROPT_$(PAPER)) $(SPHINXOPTS) . +# the i18n builder cannot share the environment and doctrees with the others +I18NSPHINXOPTS = $(PAPEROPT_$(PAPER)) $(SPHINXOPTS) . + +.PHONY: help +help: + @echo "Please use \`make ' where is one of" + @echo " html to make standalone HTML files" + @echo " dirhtml to make HTML files named index.html in directories" + @echo " singlehtml to make a single large HTML file" + @echo " pickle to make pickle files" + @echo " json to make JSON files" + @echo " htmlhelp to make HTML files and a HTML help project" + @echo " qthelp to make HTML files and a qthelp project" + @echo " applehelp to make an Apple Help Book" + @echo " devhelp to make HTML files and a Devhelp project" + @echo " epub to make an epub" + @echo " latex to make LaTeX files, you can set PAPER=a4 or PAPER=letter" + @echo " latexpdf to make LaTeX files and run them through pdflatex" + @echo " latexpdfja to make LaTeX files and run them through platex/dvipdfmx" + @echo " text to make text files" + @echo " man to make manual pages" + @echo " texinfo to make Texinfo files" + @echo " info to make Texinfo files and run them through makeinfo" + @echo " gettext to make PO message catalogs" + @echo " changes to make an overview of all changed/added/deprecated items" + @echo " xml to make Docutils-native XML files" + @echo " pseudoxml to make pseudoxml-XML files for display purposes" + @echo " linkcheck to check all external links for integrity" + @echo " doctest to run all doctests embedded in the documentation (if enabled)" + @echo " coverage to run coverage check of the documentation (if enabled)" + +.PHONY: clean +clean: + rm -rf $(BUILDDIR)/* + +.PHONY: html +html: + $(SPHINXBUILD) -b html $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/html + @echo + @echo "Build finished. The HTML pages are in $(BUILDDIR)/html." + +.PHONY: dirhtml +dirhtml: + $(SPHINXBUILD) -b dirhtml $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/dirhtml + @echo + @echo "Build finished. The HTML pages are in $(BUILDDIR)/dirhtml." + +.PHONY: singlehtml +singlehtml: + $(SPHINXBUILD) -b singlehtml $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/singlehtml + @echo + @echo "Build finished. The HTML page is in $(BUILDDIR)/singlehtml." + +.PHONY: pickle +pickle: + $(SPHINXBUILD) -b pickle $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/pickle + @echo + @echo "Build finished; now you can process the pickle files." + +.PHONY: json +json: + $(SPHINXBUILD) -b json $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/json + @echo + @echo "Build finished; now you can process the JSON files." + +.PHONY: htmlhelp +htmlhelp: + $(SPHINXBUILD) -b htmlhelp $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/htmlhelp + @echo + @echo "Build finished; now you can run HTML Help Workshop with the" \ + ".hhp project file in $(BUILDDIR)/htmlhelp." + +.PHONY: qthelp +qthelp: + $(SPHINXBUILD) -b qthelp $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/qthelp + @echo + @echo "Build finished; now you can run "qcollectiongenerator" with the" \ + ".qhcp project file in $(BUILDDIR)/qthelp, like this:" + @echo "# qcollectiongenerator $(BUILDDIR)/qthelp/TheUnofficialGNUSocialUserManual.qhcp" + @echo "To view the help file:" + @echo "# assistant -collectionFile $(BUILDDIR)/qthelp/TheUnofficialGNUSocialUserManual.qhc" + +.PHONY: applehelp +applehelp: + $(SPHINXBUILD) -b applehelp $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/applehelp + @echo + @echo "Build finished. The help book is in $(BUILDDIR)/applehelp." + @echo "N.B. You won't be able to view it unless you put it in" \ + "~/Library/Documentation/Help or install it in your application" \ + "bundle." + +.PHONY: devhelp +devhelp: + $(SPHINXBUILD) -b devhelp $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/devhelp + @echo + @echo "Build finished." + @echo "To view the help file:" + @echo "# mkdir -p $$HOME/.local/share/devhelp/TheUnofficialGNUSocialUserManual" + @echo "# ln -s $(BUILDDIR)/devhelp $$HOME/.local/share/devhelp/TheUnofficialGNUSocialUserManual" + @echo "# devhelp" + +.PHONY: epub +epub: + $(SPHINXBUILD) -b epub $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/epub + @echo + @echo "Build finished. The epub file is in $(BUILDDIR)/epub." + +.PHONY: latex +latex: + $(SPHINXBUILD) -b latex $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/latex + @echo + @echo "Build finished; the LaTeX files are in $(BUILDDIR)/latex." + @echo "Run \`make' in that directory to run these through (pdf)latex" \ + "(use \`make latexpdf' here to do that automatically)." + +.PHONY: latexpdf +latexpdf: + $(SPHINXBUILD) -b latex $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/latex + @echo "Running LaTeX files through pdflatex..." + $(MAKE) -C $(BUILDDIR)/latex all-pdf + @echo "pdflatex finished; the PDF files are in $(BUILDDIR)/latex." + +.PHONY: latexpdfja +latexpdfja: + $(SPHINXBUILD) -b latex $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/latex + @echo "Running LaTeX files through platex and dvipdfmx..." + $(MAKE) -C $(BUILDDIR)/latex all-pdf-ja + @echo "pdflatex finished; the PDF files are in $(BUILDDIR)/latex." + +.PHONY: text +text: + $(SPHINXBUILD) -b text $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/text + @echo + @echo "Build finished. The text files are in $(BUILDDIR)/text." + +.PHONY: man +man: + $(SPHINXBUILD) -b man $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/man + @echo + @echo "Build finished. The manual pages are in $(BUILDDIR)/man." + +.PHONY: texinfo +texinfo: + $(SPHINXBUILD) -b texinfo $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/texinfo + @echo + @echo "Build finished. The Texinfo files are in $(BUILDDIR)/texinfo." + @echo "Run \`make' in that directory to run these through makeinfo" \ + "(use \`make info' here to do that automatically)." + +.PHONY: info +info: + $(SPHINXBUILD) -b texinfo $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/texinfo + @echo "Running Texinfo files through makeinfo..." + make -C $(BUILDDIR)/texinfo info + @echo "makeinfo finished; the Info files are in $(BUILDDIR)/texinfo." + +.PHONY: gettext +gettext: + $(SPHINXBUILD) -b gettext $(I18NSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/locale + @echo + @echo "Build finished. The message catalogs are in $(BUILDDIR)/locale." + +.PHONY: changes +changes: + $(SPHINXBUILD) -b changes $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/changes + @echo + @echo "The overview file is in $(BUILDDIR)/changes." + +.PHONY: linkcheck +linkcheck: + $(SPHINXBUILD) -b linkcheck $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/linkcheck + @echo + @echo "Link check complete; look for any errors in the above output " \ + "or in $(BUILDDIR)/linkcheck/output.txt." + +.PHONY: doctest +doctest: + $(SPHINXBUILD) -b doctest $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/doctest + @echo "Testing of doctests in the sources finished, look at the " \ + "results in $(BUILDDIR)/doctest/output.txt." + +.PHONY: coverage +coverage: + $(SPHINXBUILD) -b coverage $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/coverage + @echo "Testing of coverage in the sources finished, look at the " \ + "results in $(BUILDDIR)/coverage/python.txt." + +.PHONY: xml +xml: + $(SPHINXBUILD) -b xml $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/xml + @echo + @echo "Build finished. The XML files are in $(BUILDDIR)/xml." + +.PHONY: pseudoxml +pseudoxml: + $(SPHINXBUILD) -b pseudoxml $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/pseudoxml + @echo + @echo "Build finished. The pseudo-XML files are in $(BUILDDIR)/pseudoxml." diff --git a/docs/conf.py b/docs/conf.py new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ae738ae --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/conf.py @@ -0,0 +1,287 @@ +# -*- coding: utf-8 -*- +# +# The Unofficial GNU Social User Manual documentation build configuration file, created by +# sphinx-quickstart on Fri Mar 4 00:29:17 2016. +# +# This file is execfile()d with the current directory set to its +# containing dir. +# +# Note that not all possible configuration values are present in this +# autogenerated file. +# +# All configuration values have a default; values that are commented out +# serve to show the default. + +import sys +import os + +# If extensions (or modules to document with autodoc) are in another directory, +# add these directories to sys.path here. If the directory is relative to the +# documentation root, use os.path.abspath to make it absolute, like shown here. +#sys.path.insert(0, os.path.abspath('.')) + +# -- General configuration ------------------------------------------------ + +# If your documentation needs a minimal Sphinx version, state it here. +#needs_sphinx = '1.0' + +# Add any Sphinx extension module names here, as strings. They can be +# extensions coming with Sphinx (named 'sphinx.ext.*') or your custom +# ones. +extensions = [ + 'sphinx.ext.todo', +] + +# Add any paths that contain templates here, relative to this directory. +templates_path = ['_templates'] + +# The suffix(es) of source filenames. +# You can specify multiple suffix as a list of string: +# source_suffix = ['.rst', '.md'] +source_suffix = '.rst' + +# The encoding of source files. +#source_encoding = 'utf-8-sig' + +# The master toctree document. +master_doc = 'index' + +# General information about the project. +project = u'The Unofficial GNU Social User Manual' +copyright = u'2016, Thomas Karpiniec' +author = u'Thomas Karpiniec' + +# The version info for the project you're documenting, acts as replacement for +# |version| and |release|, also used in various other places throughout the +# built documents. +# +# The short X.Y version. +version = u'0.1' +# The full version, including alpha/beta/rc tags. +release = u'0.1' + +# The language for content autogenerated by Sphinx. Refer to documentation +# for a list of supported languages. +# +# This is also used if you do content translation via gettext catalogs. +# Usually you set "language" from the command line for these cases. +language = None + +# There are two options for replacing |today|: either, you set today to some +# non-false value, then it is used: +#today = '' +# Else, today_fmt is used as the format for a strftime call. +#today_fmt = '%B %d, %Y' + +# List of patterns, relative to source directory, that match files and +# directories to ignore when looking for source files. +exclude_patterns = ['_build'] + +# The reST default role (used for this markup: `text`) to use for all +# documents. +#default_role = None + +# If true, '()' will be appended to :func: etc. cross-reference text. +#add_function_parentheses = True + +# If true, the current module name will be prepended to all description +# unit titles (such as .. function::). +#add_module_names = True + +# If true, sectionauthor and moduleauthor directives will be shown in the +# output. They are ignored by default. +#show_authors = False + +# The name of the Pygments (syntax highlighting) style to use. +pygments_style = 'sphinx' + +# A list of ignored prefixes for module index sorting. +#modindex_common_prefix = [] + +# If true, keep warnings as "system message" paragraphs in the built documents. +#keep_warnings = False + +# If true, `todo` and `todoList` produce output, else they produce nothing. +todo_include_todos = True + + +# -- Options for HTML output ---------------------------------------------- + +# The theme to use for HTML and HTML Help pages. See the documentation for +# a list of builtin themes. +html_theme = 'alabaster' + +# Theme options are theme-specific and customize the look and feel of a theme +# further. For a list of options available for each theme, see the +# documentation. +html_theme_options = { + 'show_related': True, +} + +# Add any paths that contain custom themes here, relative to this directory. +#html_theme_path = [] + +# The name for this set of Sphinx documents. If None, it defaults to +# " v documentation". +#html_title = None + +# A shorter title for the navigation bar. Default is the same as html_title. +#html_short_title = None + +# The name of an image file (relative to this directory) to place at the top +# of the sidebar. +#html_logo = None + +# The name of an image file (relative to this directory) to use as a favicon of +# the docs. This file should be a Windows icon file (.ico) being 16x16 or 32x32 +# pixels large. +#html_favicon = None + +# Add any paths that contain custom static files (such as style sheets) here, +# relative to this directory. They are copied after the builtin static files, +# so a file named "default.css" will overwrite the builtin "default.css". +html_static_path = ['_static'] + +# Add any extra paths that contain custom files (such as robots.txt or +# .htaccess) here, relative to this directory. These files are copied +# directly to the root of the documentation. +#html_extra_path = [] + +# If not '', a 'Last updated on:' timestamp is inserted at every page bottom, +# using the given strftime format. +#html_last_updated_fmt = '%b %d, %Y' + +# If true, SmartyPants will be used to convert quotes and dashes to +# typographically correct entities. +#html_use_smartypants = True + +# Custom sidebar templates, maps document names to template names. +#html_sidebars = {} + +# Additional templates that should be rendered to pages, maps page names to +# template names. +#html_additional_pages = {} + +# If false, no module index is generated. +#html_domain_indices = True + +# If false, no index is generated. +#html_use_index = True + +# If true, the index is split into individual pages for each letter. +#html_split_index = False + +# If true, links to the reST sources are added to the pages. +#html_show_sourcelink = True + +# If true, "Created using Sphinx" is shown in the HTML footer. Default is True. +#html_show_sphinx = True + +# If true, "(C) Copyright ..." is shown in the HTML footer. Default is True. +#html_show_copyright = True + +# If true, an OpenSearch description file will be output, and all pages will +# contain a tag referring to it. The value of this option must be the +# base URL from which the finished HTML is served. +#html_use_opensearch = '' + +# This is the file name suffix for HTML files (e.g. ".xhtml"). +#html_file_suffix = None + +# Language to be used for generating the HTML full-text search index. +# Sphinx supports the following languages: +# 'da', 'de', 'en', 'es', 'fi', 'fr', 'hu', 'it', 'ja' +# 'nl', 'no', 'pt', 'ro', 'ru', 'sv', 'tr' +#html_search_language = 'en' + +# A dictionary with options for the search language support, empty by default. +# Now only 'ja' uses this config value +#html_search_options = {'type': 'default'} + +# The name of a javascript file (relative to the configuration directory) that +# implements a search results scorer. If empty, the default will be used. +#html_search_scorer = 'scorer.js' + +# Output file base name for HTML help builder. +htmlhelp_basename = 'TheUnofficialGNUSocialUserManualdoc' + +# -- Options for LaTeX output --------------------------------------------- + +latex_elements = { +# The paper size ('letterpaper' or 'a4paper'). +#'papersize': 'letterpaper', + +# The font size ('10pt', '11pt' or '12pt'). +#'pointsize': '10pt', + +# Additional stuff for the LaTeX preamble. +#'preamble': '', + +# Latex figure (float) alignment +#'figure_align': 'htbp', +} + +# Grouping the document tree into LaTeX files. List of tuples +# (source start file, target name, title, +# author, documentclass [howto, manual, or own class]). +latex_documents = [ + (master_doc, 'TheUnofficialGNUSocialUserManual.tex', u'The Unofficial GNU Social User Manual Documentation', + u'Thomas Karpiniec', 'manual'), +] + +# The name of an image file (relative to this directory) to place at the top of +# the title page. +#latex_logo = None + +# For "manual" documents, if this is true, then toplevel headings are parts, +# not chapters. +#latex_use_parts = False + +# If true, show page references after internal links. +#latex_show_pagerefs = False + +# If true, show URL addresses after external links. +#latex_show_urls = False + +# Documents to append as an appendix to all manuals. +#latex_appendices = [] + +# If false, no module index is generated. +#latex_domain_indices = True + + +# -- Options for manual page output --------------------------------------- + +# One entry per manual page. List of tuples +# (source start file, name, description, authors, manual section). +man_pages = [ + (master_doc, 'theunofficialgnusocialusermanual', u'The Unofficial GNU Social User Manual Documentation', + [author], 1) +] + +# If true, show URL addresses after external links. +#man_show_urls = False + + +# -- Options for Texinfo output ------------------------------------------- + +# Grouping the document tree into Texinfo files. List of tuples +# (source start file, target name, title, author, +# dir menu entry, description, category) +texinfo_documents = [ + (master_doc, 'TheUnofficialGNUSocialUserManual', u'The Unofficial GNU Social User Manual Documentation', + author, 'TheUnofficialGNUSocialUserManual', 'One line description of project.', + 'Miscellaneous'), +] + +# Documents to append as an appendix to all manuals. +#texinfo_appendices = [] + +# If false, no module index is generated. +#texinfo_domain_indices = True + +# How to display URL addresses: 'footnote', 'no', or 'inline'. +#texinfo_show_urls = 'footnote' + +# If true, do not generate a @detailmenu in the "Top" node's menu. +#texinfo_no_detailmenu = False diff --git a/docs/index.rst b/docs/index.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..81b91ff --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/index.rst @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +.. The Unofficial GNU Social User Manual documentation master file, created by + sphinx-quickstart on Fri Mar 4 00:29:17 2016. + You can adapt this file completely to your liking, but it should at least + contain the root `toctree` directive. + +The Unofficial GNU Social documentation! +======================================== + +Contents: + +.. toctree:: + :maxdepth: 2 + + user/index + + + +Indices and tables +================== + +* :ref:`genindex` +* :ref:`modindex` +* :ref:`search` + diff --git a/docs/make.bat b/docs/make.bat new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8685397 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/make.bat @@ -0,0 +1,263 @@ +@ECHO OFF + +REM Command file for Sphinx documentation + +if "%SPHINXBUILD%" == "" ( + set SPHINXBUILD=sphinx-build +) +set BUILDDIR=_build +set ALLSPHINXOPTS=-d %BUILDDIR%/doctrees %SPHINXOPTS% . +set I18NSPHINXOPTS=%SPHINXOPTS% . +if NOT "%PAPER%" == "" ( + set ALLSPHINXOPTS=-D latex_paper_size=%PAPER% %ALLSPHINXOPTS% + set I18NSPHINXOPTS=-D latex_paper_size=%PAPER% %I18NSPHINXOPTS% +) + +if "%1" == "" goto help + +if "%1" == "help" ( + :help + echo.Please use `make ^` where ^ is one of + echo. html to make standalone HTML files + echo. dirhtml to make HTML files named index.html in directories + echo. singlehtml to make a single large HTML file + echo. pickle to make pickle files + echo. json to make JSON files + echo. htmlhelp to make HTML files and a HTML help project + echo. qthelp to make HTML files and a qthelp project + echo. devhelp to make HTML files and a Devhelp project + echo. epub to make an epub + echo. latex to make LaTeX files, you can set PAPER=a4 or PAPER=letter + echo. text to make text files + echo. man to make manual pages + echo. texinfo to make Texinfo files + echo. gettext to make PO message catalogs + echo. changes to make an overview over all changed/added/deprecated items + echo. xml to make Docutils-native XML files + echo. pseudoxml to make pseudoxml-XML files for display purposes + echo. linkcheck to check all external links for integrity + echo. doctest to run all doctests embedded in the documentation if enabled + echo. coverage to run coverage check of the documentation if enabled + goto end +) + +if "%1" == "clean" ( + for /d %%i in (%BUILDDIR%\*) do rmdir /q /s %%i + del /q /s %BUILDDIR%\* + goto end +) + + +REM Check if sphinx-build is available and fallback to Python version if any +%SPHINXBUILD% 1>NUL 2>NUL +if errorlevel 9009 goto sphinx_python +goto sphinx_ok + +:sphinx_python + +set SPHINXBUILD=python -m sphinx.__init__ +%SPHINXBUILD% 2> nul +if errorlevel 9009 ( + echo. + echo.The 'sphinx-build' command was not found. Make sure you have Sphinx + echo.installed, then set the SPHINXBUILD environment variable to point + echo.to the full path of the 'sphinx-build' executable. Alternatively you + echo.may add the Sphinx directory to PATH. + echo. + echo.If you don't have Sphinx installed, grab it from + echo.http://sphinx-doc.org/ + exit /b 1 +) + +:sphinx_ok + + +if "%1" == "html" ( + %SPHINXBUILD% -b html %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/html + if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1 + echo. + echo.Build finished. The HTML pages are in %BUILDDIR%/html. + goto end +) + +if "%1" == "dirhtml" ( + %SPHINXBUILD% -b dirhtml %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/dirhtml + if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1 + echo. + echo.Build finished. The HTML pages are in %BUILDDIR%/dirhtml. + goto end +) + +if "%1" == "singlehtml" ( + %SPHINXBUILD% -b singlehtml %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/singlehtml + if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1 + echo. + echo.Build finished. The HTML pages are in %BUILDDIR%/singlehtml. + goto end +) + +if "%1" == "pickle" ( + %SPHINXBUILD% -b pickle %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/pickle + if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1 + echo. + echo.Build finished; now you can process the pickle files. + goto end +) + +if "%1" == "json" ( + %SPHINXBUILD% -b json %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/json + if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1 + echo. + echo.Build finished; now you can process the JSON files. + goto end +) + +if "%1" == "htmlhelp" ( + %SPHINXBUILD% -b htmlhelp %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/htmlhelp + if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1 + echo. + echo.Build finished; now you can run HTML Help Workshop with the ^ +.hhp project file in %BUILDDIR%/htmlhelp. + goto end +) + +if "%1" == "qthelp" ( + %SPHINXBUILD% -b qthelp %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/qthelp + if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1 + echo. + echo.Build finished; now you can run "qcollectiongenerator" with the ^ +.qhcp project file in %BUILDDIR%/qthelp, like this: + echo.^> qcollectiongenerator %BUILDDIR%\qthelp\TheUnofficialGNUSocialUserManual.qhcp + echo.To view the help file: + echo.^> assistant -collectionFile %BUILDDIR%\qthelp\TheUnofficialGNUSocialUserManual.ghc + goto end +) + +if "%1" == "devhelp" ( + %SPHINXBUILD% -b devhelp %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/devhelp + if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1 + echo. + echo.Build finished. + goto end +) + +if "%1" == "epub" ( + %SPHINXBUILD% -b epub %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/epub + if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1 + echo. + echo.Build finished. The epub file is in %BUILDDIR%/epub. + goto end +) + +if "%1" == "latex" ( + %SPHINXBUILD% -b latex %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/latex + if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1 + echo. + echo.Build finished; the LaTeX files are in %BUILDDIR%/latex. + goto end +) + +if "%1" == "latexpdf" ( + %SPHINXBUILD% -b latex %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/latex + cd %BUILDDIR%/latex + make all-pdf + cd %~dp0 + echo. + echo.Build finished; the PDF files are in %BUILDDIR%/latex. + goto end +) + +if "%1" == "latexpdfja" ( + %SPHINXBUILD% -b latex %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/latex + cd %BUILDDIR%/latex + make all-pdf-ja + cd %~dp0 + echo. + echo.Build finished; the PDF files are in %BUILDDIR%/latex. + goto end +) + +if "%1" == "text" ( + %SPHINXBUILD% -b text %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/text + if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1 + echo. + echo.Build finished. The text files are in %BUILDDIR%/text. + goto end +) + +if "%1" == "man" ( + %SPHINXBUILD% -b man %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/man + if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1 + echo. + echo.Build finished. The manual pages are in %BUILDDIR%/man. + goto end +) + +if "%1" == "texinfo" ( + %SPHINXBUILD% -b texinfo %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/texinfo + if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1 + echo. + echo.Build finished. The Texinfo files are in %BUILDDIR%/texinfo. + goto end +) + +if "%1" == "gettext" ( + %SPHINXBUILD% -b gettext %I18NSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/locale + if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1 + echo. + echo.Build finished. The message catalogs are in %BUILDDIR%/locale. + goto end +) + +if "%1" == "changes" ( + %SPHINXBUILD% -b changes %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/changes + if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1 + echo. + echo.The overview file is in %BUILDDIR%/changes. + goto end +) + +if "%1" == "linkcheck" ( + %SPHINXBUILD% -b linkcheck %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/linkcheck + if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1 + echo. + echo.Link check complete; look for any errors in the above output ^ +or in %BUILDDIR%/linkcheck/output.txt. + goto end +) + +if "%1" == "doctest" ( + %SPHINXBUILD% -b doctest %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/doctest + if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1 + echo. + echo.Testing of doctests in the sources finished, look at the ^ +results in %BUILDDIR%/doctest/output.txt. + goto end +) + +if "%1" == "coverage" ( + %SPHINXBUILD% -b coverage %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/coverage + if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1 + echo. + echo.Testing of coverage in the sources finished, look at the ^ +results in %BUILDDIR%/coverage/python.txt. + goto end +) + +if "%1" == "xml" ( + %SPHINXBUILD% -b xml %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/xml + if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1 + echo. + echo.Build finished. The XML files are in %BUILDDIR%/xml. + goto end +) + +if "%1" == "pseudoxml" ( + %SPHINXBUILD% -b pseudoxml %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/pseudoxml + if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1 + echo. + echo.Build finished. The pseudo-XML files are in %BUILDDIR%/pseudoxml. + goto end +) + +:end diff --git a/docs/user/exploring_the_network.rst b/docs/user/exploring_the_network.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2d8a0fc --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/user/exploring_the_network.rst @@ -0,0 +1,149 @@ +Exploring the network +===================== +To get the most out of GNU social you need to find your way around the various +servers. + + +The different timelines +----------------------- +If you've used Twitter before you're used to the *Home* timeline. This shows +messages posted by people you follow. Because GNU social consists of separate +servers you can browse three different timelines: + +Home + People you follow + +Public / Public Timeline + Everybody on this server + +Network / The Whole Known Network + Everybody that this server knows about + +This is how it would look if you followed two people on the same server as you, +plus two people from different servers: + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/home-vs-public.png + :alt: Difference between home and public timelines + :align: center + + +Following +--------- +Thanks to federation it is easy to follow both people on the same server as you +and on different servers. However, following someone on a different server can +require a couple of extra clicks. + +If you're on one of the *Quitter* servers (or any server that uses the Qvitter +plugin) there is an easy way to do both. See +:ref:`qvitter-follow`. + +Following people on the same server +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ +Click on their username to go to their user page. There you will find a button +to follow them. It will look like one of these: + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/subscribe-button.png + :alt: Stock GNU social subscribe button + :align: center + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/follow-button.png + :alt: Qvitter follow button + :align: center + +Click the button. Their notices will now appear in your Home timeline. + +.. _remote-follow: + +Following people on other servers +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ +First go to their user page. You can always get there by clicking on their +username. This will take you to the server where that person has their account. + +Suppose your account is on *quitter.no* and you clicked on a user who is on +*quitter.se*. Your browser will now be at an address like +``https://quitter.se/some_user``. You will not be logged in on the remote +server — you're just a public visitor. Don't try to log in or create an +account; it's not necessary. + +The page might look completely different from what you're used to! Every server +can have its own custom style. What you need to look for is the remote follow +button. Here are three examples: + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/remote-follow-button.png + :alt: Qvitter remote follow button + :align: center + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/subscribe-button.png + :alt: Stock GNU social subscribe button (same as for local) + :align: center + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/subscribe-loadaverage.png + :alt: LoadAverage subscribe button + :align: center + +Click on it. A box will pop up asking what your account is, in email address +format. If your username is fido and your server is ``quitter.no`` you would +type ``fido@quitter.no``. Then click *Subscribe* or *Remote* follow as +appropriate. + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/remote-part-2.png + :alt: Entering your address + :align: center + +You might (or might not) be taken to an intermediate screen like this one. +Check the details are correct and click *Subscribe* again. + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/remote-part-3.png + :alt: Remote follow, next step + :align: center + +You will now be taken back your own server where you're logged in. You will be +shown profile information about the user you are about to follow. To complete +the process click the *Confirm* button. It will look something like this: + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/confirm-stock.png + :alt: Stock confirm button + :align: center + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/confirm-qvitter.png + :alt: Quitter.no confirm button (I guess qvitter hasn't styled it) + :align: center + +You are now following that person. Notices that they post from now on will now +appear in your Home timeline. If someone else on your server was already +following them you might get some older ones as well. + +.. _qvitter-follow: + +Following people using Qvitter +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ +Qvitter has a handy shortcut for following people regardless of whether or not +they're on the same server as you. Hover your mouse pointer over their name. A +popup will appear. Click the *Follow* button. + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/qvitter-hover1.png + :alt: Hovering over a name in qvitter + :align: center + +It will change to *Following*. You're all done. + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/qvitter-hover2.png + :alt: Now following + :align: center + +Following people using manual subscription URL +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ +*Note: This is not the usual way to follow someone but it's a technique some +people find convenient.* + +You can initiate a remote follow directly from your own server. To do this +visit ``/main/ostatussub`` on your server. For example if you are logged in to +quitter.se you would go to ``https://quitter.se/main/ostatussub``. You will get +to a page with an error like this: + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/manual-confirm.png + :alt: First page of the ostatussub confirmation + :align: center + +Enter a profile address such as ``https://quitter.no/doctorow`` and click +*Continue*. You will jump straight to the confirmation screen as shown above. diff --git a/docs/user/getting_started.rst b/docs/user/getting_started.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1f955d2 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/user/getting_started.rst @@ -0,0 +1,247 @@ +Getting Started +=============== + +Choosing a server +----------------- +You have to make one decision to get on GNU social: which server to use. If +you're technically inclined and want to host your own then `you can do that`_. +For everyone else there are many choices available. Many of them are listed on +`this webpage`_. + +If you don't want to shop around, these are some popular choices, particularly +for English speakers: + +* `Quitter.se`_ +* `LoadAverage`_ +* `Quitter.no`_ + +There is a small advantage in choosing either a local server or a server where +you already know people. Every server has a user directory that lists all the +accounts registered there. This can make it easier for others to stumble across +you. + +Although there are many servers not all of them allow members of the public to +create new accounts. The administrator of each server can turn this feature on +or off. + + +Registering an account +---------------------- +In this example we will use `Quitter.no`_, which allows new users to register +freely. This server looks very similar to Twitter because it is using a plugin +called `Qvitter`_. If you don't like the appearance then you can simply pick a +different server. + +It has a Sign Up section on the bottom-left of the home page. Enter your basic +information and click *Sign up to Quitter.no*: + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/qno_signup_small.jpg + :alt: Sign Up section of quitter.no + :align: center + :target: ../_images/qno_signup.jpg + +.. |qno_signup| image:: ../../resources/user/qno_signup.jpg + +You will be prompted for extra information: + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/qno_signup_details_small.png + :alt: Sign Up Details section of quitter.no + :align: center + :target: ../_images/qno_signup_details.png + +.. |qno_signup_details| image:: ../../resources/user/qno_signup_details.png + +Your nickname is the main name for your account. You won't be able to change it +so choose carefully. You can also set a "Full Name" that appears on your +profile and alongside your notices. Don't feel obligated to use any real +information—anonymous and pseudonymous users are very welcome on GNU social. + +A working email address is normally required for account verification. You can +use it to receive email notifications too. + +Choose a good password. As always it is a good idea to use a password that you +don't use anywhere else. Free software like `KeePassX`_ can help you generate +and remember your passwords. + +Press the *Sign up to Quitter.no* button. You can start using your account +right away but you should confirm your email address when the email comes +through. + +Congratulations! You're on GNU social! + + +Publishing a notice +-------------------- +Depending on which server you're using you might see something different once +you log in. Here are two examples: + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/send_example_1_small.png + :alt: Publishing a notice on a standard server + :align: center + :target: ../_images/send_example_1.png + +.. |send_example_1| image:: ../../resources/user/send_example_1.png + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/send_example_2_small.png + :alt: Publishing a notice on a Qvitter server + :align: center + :target: ../_images/send_example_2.png + +.. |send_example_2| image:: ../../resources/user/send_example_2.png + +In both cases you have a text box to type a message. Click inside it, type a +notice, then click *Send* to publish it to your followers. + + +Favouriting, Repeating and Replying +----------------------------------- +After you have followed a few of your friends and interesting people on the +network you will see their posts on your "HOME" newsfeed. Below each post are +some icons that allow you to interact with the notice and/or the original +poster. + +Clicking on the |reply icon| will add a post text field to the page and allow +you to respond to the post. Your reply will then appear as a threaded notice +underneath the original post, as in this example: + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/reply_example_1.png + :alt: Replying to a notice + :align: center + +Clicking on the |favourite icon| will add the post to your list of favourite +posts. This also pings the original poster alerting them that you favourited +the post. You can see your list of favourite posts by clicking on the +"FAVOURITES" link on the left navigation bar. If you are using `Chimo's Reverse +Favourites`_ plugin you can see who has favourited your previous posts. + +Clicking on the |recycle icon| will repeat the notice so that it will be shared +to your own list of followers, and as such probably implies another more +explicit favour to the original post. + + +Hashtags, Mentions and Groups +----------------------------- +In addition to the above methods to interact with followers network, GNU social +also supports features you will find familiar with other social networks. You +can mention someone else in a post by using the '@' prefix. This example shows +how to mention someone, and how the post will look after you post it. + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/mention_example_1.png + :alt: Mentioning a user in a post + :align: center + +You don't have to use the full ``username@domain.tld`` format when mentioning +someone. If you leave out the full ``@domain.tld`` part of a user you are +mentioning then you are limiting the scope to people on your local instance and +your followers. + +The social network hashtag '#' prefixed before a word, eg #federated makes +keywords trend on your home feed and across the federated network as more +people use the same hashtag. + +Groups are an optional part of GNU social. Each social instance can have one or +more groups based on a topic. Then local users of the instance as well as +remote social users can subscribe to the group. A group is similar to a user in +GNU social but you refer to a group using the '!' prefix instead of the '@' +prefix. + +When you find a group on your local GNU social instance, or a remote instance +you can follow it in a similar way to following users, simply enter your GNU +social username when prompted after clicking on the "Join" button. + +You can post a notice to the group by mentioning the group with a '!' prefix, +for example: + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/grouppost_example_1.png + :alt: Making a post mentioning a group. + :align: center + +Your post will then appear in your follower's feeds as well as anyone else +subscribed to the group who may or may not also follow you. + + +Referring to your account +------------------------- +For somebody else to find you on GNU social you need to give them two pieces of +information: + +1. What server you're on — for example, *quitter.no* +2. Your account name. That's the one starting with an @ — for example, @fred + +There are three different ways of referring to your account and they're useful +at different times. + +Your profile URL +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ +If you want someone to check out your account the easiest thing is to give them +a link to your profile. They don't need a GNU social account of their own. If +they have one and they want to follow you they will be able to do that easily +from this page. + +To access your profile click on your name. On quitter.no it's in the top-left +and looks vaguely like this: + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/qno_profile_link.png + :alt: Link to your profile on quitter.no + :align: center + +On a more standard server you can look for something in the menu called +*Profile*: + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/taslug_profile_link.png + :alt: Link to your profile on a standard GNU social server + :align: center + +Either way once you get there your browser will be at a URL that looks similar +to this: + + ``https://quitter.no/fred`` + +Take that URL and give it to the person who wants to see your account. + +Doing a remote follow +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ +Another way to describe your account is like an email address. You write your +username, move the @ from the start to the end, then write the server without +any https or slashes: + + ``fred@quitter.no`` + +This is what you need to type in if you are doing a Remote Follow—that is, +following someone on a different server from you. More about that in a later +section: :ref:`remote-follow`. + +Writing notices +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ +If you're writing a notice and want to mention another user simply tag their +account with an @ like this: *@fred - Have you met @sandra? She's a colleague of +mine*. + +You might be thinking that the server part is missing. You're right! But GNU +social is clever. If you use an @ tag in a notice it assumes you must be +talking about someone you follow. It looks through its database to find which +account has that name and fills out the server part behind the scenes. + + +Next steps +---------- +In this part you signed up for GNU social and sent your first notice. This will +quickly get boring unless you find some other people to follow. The next part +describes the different ways you can explore the GNU social network and see +what everyone else is saying. + + +.. _you can do that: https://git.gnu.io/gnu/gnu-social +.. _this webpage: http://www.skilledtests.com/wiki/List_of_Independent_Statusnet_Instances +.. _Quitter.se: https://quiter.se/ +.. _LoadAverage: https://loadaverage.org/ +.. _Quitter.no: https://quiter.no/ +.. _Qvitter: https://git.gnu.io/h2p/Qvitter +.. _KeePassX: https://www.keepassx.org/ +.. |reply icon| image:: ../../resources/user/reply.gif + :alt: reply icon +.. |favourite icon| image:: ../../resources/user/favourite.gif + :alt: favourite icon +.. _Chimo's Reverse Favourites: https://github.com/chimo/gs-reverseFavs +.. |recycle icon| image:: ../../resources/user/recycle.gif + :alt: recycle icon diff --git a/docs/user/hashtags_and_groups.rst b/docs/user/hashtags_and_groups.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..689f23f --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/user/hashtags_and_groups.rst @@ -0,0 +1,154 @@ +Hashtags and Groups +=================== + +Tags +---- +On GNU social you will sometimes see words with a ``#`` or a ``!`` in front of +them. The first is a hashtag; the second is a group. They are both ways of +linking together posts that relate to the same topic. They work in different +ways. + +.. _hashtags: + +Hashtags +-------- + +Using hashtags +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ +If you put a ``#`` in front of a word like ``#this`` then that word becomes a +clickable link. When you click it you are shown messages from everyone that +contain that same hashtag. It allows you to quickly find others who were +posting about the same topic, or to bring your post to the attention of those +who are watching the tag. Twitter turned the concept into a household name and +it's now a staple of microblogging. + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/typing-hashtag.png + :alt: Typing a hashtag in a post + :align: center + +Click on the link in a post to see all posts that include the tag: + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/showing-hashtag.png + :alt: Browsing a hashtag stream + :align: center + +Note that this cannot show posts from the entire GNU social network. This +limitation is explained more in the next section. + +For network-wide conversations about particular topics, see the section about +:ref:`groups`. Groups perform a similar function to hashtags and they use a +``!`` instead of a ``#``. + +The limited reach of hashtags +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ +Hashtags are somewhat limited in GNU social because your server does not have a +complete view of the network. Suppose your server has 10 accounts on it. +Obviously it knows about every post that those 10 people make. If each person +follows 10 different people on remote servers, that's 100 extra people. All +together your server knows about the posts from 110 accounts. + +If you click on a hashtag on your server, it's only ever possible to see posts +from those 110 people. + +Note also that hashtags are linked to the server where you posted. If your +account is on quitter.no and you use the tag ``#newyearseve``, anyone who +clicks on it will see quitter.no's list. If somebody on quitter.se uses the +same tag, clicking on that tag will show you quitter.se's list. These lists +might be different because each server has a different view of the network. + +The GNU social federation has lots of benefits but you can see that it makes +hashtags a little complicated. :ref:`groups` are a popular alternative that are +more reliable. + +Hashtag subscriptions +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ +You can subscribe to hashtags on your own server. This means that any time your +server sees a post containing the hashtag, that post will appear in your *Home* +timeline regardless of whether you normally follow the person who sent it. + +The button to subscribe appears when you click on a hashtag. Note that this is +not visible if you are using Qvitter (i.e. any of the "quitter" servers). You +can access it by switching to the "classic" mode. + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/showing-hashtag.png + :alt: Browsing a hashtag stream + :align: center + +Once you are subscribed, not only will those posts appear in your home +timeline, but you will also get quick access to the tag in your left menu. From +there you can unsubscribe again. + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/subscribed-tag.png + :alt: Subscribed to a hashtag + :align: center + +.. _groups: + +Groups +------ + +Joining groups +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ +A group is effectively a noticeboard hosted on a particular server. If you join +as a member of a group you can post messages to it by including a group tag. +Every time a member makes a post to the group it is submitted to the hosting +server. The hosting server then passes it on to all the members. This means +that if you join you are guaranteed to see every post in your Home timeline. +This is different from subscribing to :ref:`hashtags`, which are shown on a +best-effort basis. + +You will probably first notice a group in your timeline as a link you can +click: + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/group-in-timeline.png + :alt: A group in a timeline + :align: center + +Clicking on the word ``!tinsel`` takes you to the group page on the hosting +server. If you want to join the group, click the Join button: + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/groups-join-button.png + :alt: Join group button + :align: center + +You can also browse groups on your server by clicking on the Groups menu item: + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/groups-menu-item.png + :alt: Groups in the left menu in stock GNU social + :align: center + +To post a message to the group, first ensure you have joined. Then use its +nickname inside your post, like ``!tinsel``. + +Creating groups +^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ +If you want to start a new group on your own server then you can do that. Click +on Groups in the menu item and then click the *Create a new group* link: + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/groups-create-button.png + :alt: Link to create a new group + :align: center + +You will have to fill in some initial information about the new group, like +this: + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/groups-create-form.png + :alt: Form for creating a new group + :align: center + +Once the group is created, anyone who has joined can post to it by using its +nickname (``!tinsel``) or any of its aliases (``!sparkly``). + +You will start off as the single administrator of the group. When you visit the +group page on your server you will have links to edit settings and set a logo. + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/groups-administration.png + :alt: Group admin page + :align: center + +To make another user an admin of the group, click the relevant button next to +them: + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/groups-make-admin.png + :alt: Making another user a group admin + :align: center diff --git a/docs/user/index.rst b/docs/user/index.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e157f6d --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/user/index.rst @@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ +User Manual +=========== + +Contents: + +.. toctree:: + :maxdepth: 2 + + what_is_gnu_social + getting_started + exploring_the_network + hashtags_and_groups diff --git a/docs/user/what_is_gnu_social.rst b/docs/user/what_is_gnu_social.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..88e5e16 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/user/what_is_gnu_social.rst @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +What is GNU social +================== +GNU social is a social network for microblogging. It enables you to publish +short notices including URLs and pictures. If you're interested in what someone +has to say you can follow them. When you log in to your account you see a +timeline containing all of the notices from people that you follow. You can +have a conversation with another person by replying to each other's notices. + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/gnusocialno_general_small.png + :alt: Homepage of gnusocial.no + :align: center + :target: ../_images/gnusocialno_general.png + +.. |gnusocialno_general| image:: ../../resources/user/gnusocialno_general.png + +You may have seen this sort of thing before. GNU social is special for two main +reasons: it's *decentralised*, and it's *free software*. + +Being decentralised means that there is no single server that controls GNU +social. Instead, many servers are run by different people around the world. +These servers communicate with each other to form a *federation*. You can +create an account on any one of them. Although the servers sometimes look +different, ultimately it doesn't matter which one you choose—you're still part +of the same network as everyone else. + +.. image:: ../../resources/user/federation.png + :align: center + +If one server suffers an outage it's inconvenient for the people who have an +account on that particular server. The rest of the network continues to operate +as normal. This makes GNU social highly resilient. Censorship is difficult as +servers can be located anywhere in the world. + +Because GNU social is free software it's here to stay. A corporate social +network might disappear or start running advertisements when the venture +capital runs out. The GNU social code is available to everybody and there are +many servers where it's free to create an account. + +This is a social network that does what's best for the people who use it—not +what makes the most money. diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6174f1b --- /dev/null +++ b/requirements.txt @@ -0,0 +1 @@ +Sphinx>=1.3.6