Jan Schaumann wrote:
> And the guide looks more consistent
> and cleaner, too.  But I don't know if it is equally fickle wrt version
> numbers of the packages or how resource hungry it is.
> 
> Can we change the website to use the same tools as the guide?  I think
> just based on the reduced number of packages needed that would be a step
> forward

I've used jade and SGML DocBook for years to maintain the FreeTDS user
guide.  I've tracked the tools right along with pkgsrc with no problem. 
The only version changes I've had to worry about were to DocBook itself:
when I upgraded from IIRC DocBook 3.2 to DocBook 4.0 -- a source code
change -- some tags had been deprecated and the HTML styling changed,
forcing me to learn about stylesheet configuration.  

There are lots of "easier" ways to generate HTML, but I like DocBook for
the same reason I like C and SQL and NetBSD: I don't have to relearn them.
 In considering other options, I'd suggest that DocBook's biggest asset is
its design and its user base.  If htdocs used the same tools as the Guide
(basically Jade and the DocBook catalog) and were written in mostly
plain-vanilla DocBook, they would invite just the kind of casual
fixer-upper you're hoping to attract.  

I also think chunks of the website would benefit from having PDF versions.
 For example, anyone with a single gateway to the Internet knows the value
of having the install notes printed before upgrading the firewall....

--jkl