Re: [DRAFT FOR REVIEW] Debian GNU/Linux top 34 supercomputer at 32.8 TFlops for detecting gravitational waves at Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics
On Friday 30 May 2008 09:59:10 Jon Evans wrote:
> Think of the audience of this sort of writing as a triangle standing on
> it's point. At the start everyone is with you and as you go on you'll
> slowly loose more and more readers until by the time you get to the last
> paragraph only the odd one or two are still reading.
Great analogy.
> The technical specs would work better placed at the end of the article I
> think. As it is it's too much information too quickly. If not then slow it
> down a little.
I agree.
> Same thing with the title. Make it short and snappy so that slashdot can
> list it easily. How about:
> One of the World's 34 Most Powerful Supercomputers at the Max Planck
> Institute for Gravitational Physics Runs Debian GNU/Linux
I still think that is too long. Also, this is a Debian PR -- Debian should be
the (active, positive) subject of the title sentence. I would prefer
something like:
Debian GNU/Linux Powers Max Planck Institute Supercomputer
> Same thing with the first paragraph:
>...snip...
I like these changes. However, I am struggling to see what is the NEWS here!
I think that the "Structure" section of the guidelines is missing something
that should go first in any PR:
0- What has happened that is interesting or newsworthy?
A press release about Debian having been powering this supercomputer for the
last 4 years is not newsworthy. It may be that we want to issue it anyway
(as a "success story") but it would be better if we could tie it to something
that has happened. For example, is this supercomputer going to appear on the
next release of the TOP500 list? If so, instead of speculating where it
would appear on the list, why don't we make the PR an announcement of where
it does appear? Or has new capacity recently been added to increase the
power? If so, that could be what we are announcing.
The release is also far too long -- the guidelines say one page and they are
right. Much of the background in the second section should be on a web page
somewhere which can be linked from the release. Is there somewhere that can
go?
I am happy to make some proposed changes on the wiki but they would be
large -- and involve deleting a lot of stuff. I don't want to do that unless
there is some agreement here.
Graham
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