Twitter Chat: Chapter 2 Recap
Tags: bookclub, documentation
Published: 2021-12-06 21:05:25

<small>Cover Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@chrisjdavis?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Chris J. Davis</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/twitter?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></small>

We started a book club! Each week we host a Twitter chat on Thursdays to discuss a chapter of [Docs for Developers](https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4842-7217-6). 

On Thursday Dec. 2nd we had our second Twitter chat, hosted on the [@DevEdBookClub Twitter](https://twitter.com/DevEdBookClub) account about Chapter 2. 

This post is a recap of the chat and a place to continue the conversation.

## Content Types
**Did any of the types listed surprise you?**

**What great examples have you seen of a particular content type? What stands out about it?**

[Sarah Rainsberger](https://twitter.com/sarah11918) mentioned she found the distinction between a “Tutorial” and a “How to Guide” interesting. She liked that the book made these two content types distinct. 

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[@RMStav](https://twitter.com/RMStav) and myself were both surprised to see code comments mentioned as a content type for documentation. We both mentioned they can be extremely useful and it makes sense to give them a higher priority to help aid developers new to a project. 

{% twitter 1466589979258195968 %} 

**Which content types do you have the hardest time creating? The easiest? Why?**

Many of us agreed that READMEs have been both hard to create and maintain. 

{% twitter 1466590169717424137 %}

Do you manage any of your company's repositories? Do you find the READMEs hard to create or manage?  

## Planning Strategies and Processes

**What strategies or processes have you used in the past to plan your documentation?**

**What worked well? What would you do differently next time?**

**What questions do you still have about how to plan documentation?**


[Ramón Huidobro](https://twitter.com/hola_soy_milk) pointed out that having an expert come in and help create a style guide and improve their docs was a useful strategy for them and something they would continue to do in the future. 
{% twitter 1466663586860654592 %}

What processes or strategies have you used to plan documentation? Were your processes successful? 

## Favorite Takeaways
**What takeaways from this chapter can you apply to your own documentation practice at work?**

**Any quotes or ideas that resonate with you?**

[Aisha Blake](https://twitter.com/AishaBlake) enjoys using templates. After reading this chapter she realized there are many more forms of content that she could create good templates for. 


{% twitter 1466603063712501761 %} 

[Megan Sullivan](https://twitter.com/meganesulli) appreciated the reminder to compare your list of planned docs against your user's journey. 
{% twitter 1466599191589707779 %}

[Sean C Davis](https://twitter.com/seancdavis29) added that the most important advice they received was to write empathetically. He pointed out that we should always have the user in mind when writing our docs. 
{% twitter 1466603220592066560 %}

## Join the Conversation 🗣
You can see the full conversation on the DevEdBookClub Twitter account. 
{% twitter 1466588086066843648 %}

Add a comment on the Twitter thread or share your thoughts here to continue the conversation. 

What did you think about Chapter 2 of Docs for Developers?