I have a choice to make:
- Write about Ruby here on DEV, as I've sometimes done.
- Contribute to RubyDoc.
For example, I've recently worked on (and just posted) a piece about Ruby's class Exception:
I wrote it to provide documentation for the class that includes lots of illustrative code -- more that what's offered in the RubyDoc:
Now I've discovered that I could instead have offered improved example code for the RubyDoc page itself. It turns out that over at documenting-ruby.org, anyone can submit documentation patches.
Contributing there would have a far greater reach than anywhere else, because RubyDoc is where people go to find out about Ruby, and because RubyDoc is always high in Google's search results.
I can't be proud of my hesitation:
- Here, I'm me.
- In the RubyDoc, I'd be anonymous.
I have to ask myself:
- Do I want to be seen?
- Or do I want to make a bigger difference?
(I think I know what's the right thing.)
Top comments (1)
In my personal case I tend to contribute differently to the two. RubyDoc tends to be straightforward examples while an article can be a more in depth dive into the nuances of something that doesn't have to be nearly as formal.
So I suppose for me the answer is: why not both?