Since April 2007, the DITA Users international membership organization has provided basic online DITA editing and a personal workspace folder for free to hundreds of tech writers (now over 660) around the world getting started with DITA.
DITA Users is NOT a social network (although you can locate other members easily with our private members directory), it is a productivity tool. It is also not a production environment, it is a learning tool.
A $150 membership includes the leading book on DITA and a desktop DITA Editor to complement the web-based DITA Storm editor.
A full $100 membership includes the choice of the leading book on DITA or a desktop DITA Editor to complement the web-based DITA Storm editor.
The book (a $50 value) is JoAnn Hackos' Introduction to DITA - either the original edition by Kylene Bruski and Jennifer Linton or the new Arbortext Edition.
The desktop editor is the $48 Academic Edition of the <oXygen/> XML Editor, now at version 9 with full DITA support.
Desktop editors communicate with web servers via FTP or WebDAV (distributed authoring and versioning). DITA Users can now WebDAV-enable individual members' workspace folders.
Most DITA authoring tools offer WebDAV, some as a premium only available in their Enterprise Editions (for example, Syntext Serna and XMLmind).
DITA Users still offers a basic $50 membership without the book or desktop editor. Benefits include a WebDAV-enabled folder and discounts on major DITA conferences.
Paid memberships are renewable for $50/year. Free memberships include just one IBM DITA docset.
Anyone with a WebDAV-enabled DITA authoring tool can use it on their DITA Users document sets. These include two docsets from IBM and the docset from Comtech Services in the Introduction to DITA book. They can also create their own projects.
Practically speaking, anyone already invested in an advanced DITA authoring tool may be beyond the need for the "DITA from A to B" learning offered by DITA Users. But the new access method may make online training valuable for small tech pub groups who can now use their familiar tools (like Arbortext Editor or XMetaL Author) on the DITA Users website, as well as use innovative tools like the web-based DITA Storm, while their teams get started with DITA.
In any case, DITA Users member fees underwrite our network of DITA support websites, including the DITA News resource site and the monthly DITA Newsletter. So please consider joining today.
