GitLab basics overhaul: landing page

From @rdickenson's video teardown (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSxCW75am0o) of https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/gitlab-basics/README.html, improve the basics landing page using the following notes:

• Too sparse for someone at the basic level. Needs to be fleshed out. Links to concepts handy.
• Lacks any context.
• Title says "GitLab Basics", but topic about Git also.
• A plain bullet list is not a good introduction to GitLab Basics.

Suggestions from video:

• Git be removed from here or linked out from here.
• Flesh out introduction. List and link to relevant concepts and content.

@rdickenson, could you do any refactoring of the bullet lists here you think are neccessary?

Relates to: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/issues/59815

TO DO:

MVC first, before changes to the page

Then another round this after the rest of the epic's issues are done.

CC @gl-docsteam

added docsimprovement documentation labels

added to epic &1179

changed the description

marked this issue as related to #59815 (moved)

changed the description

assigned to @eread

If the aim of this content was to switch from GitLab theory to GitLab practice, then I think an end-to-end walk-through might be best. Something like "Contributing a change to a project on GitLab" (or similar). As you suggest @eread, we could also reference GitLab concepts as needed. The walk-through should have sufficient introduction so that the reader understands the scope, and purpose, of the content.

If we're starting at the basics level, I suggest we first produce the "GitLab UI-only" version, then add a CLI-only one, to suit both groups of GitLab users.

mentioned in merge request !27865 (merged)

As a first step, I've raised an MVC here: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/merge_requests/27865.

Part of second iteration should be to make sure everything is presented in a sensible order, with no gaps.

added devopscreate docs-only labels

Hey!

GitLab is moving all development for both GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition into a single codebase. The current gitlab-ce repository will become a read-only mirror, without any proprietary code. All development is moved to the current gitlab-ee repository, which we will rename to just gitlab in the coming weeks. As part of this migration, issues will be moved to the current gitlab-ee project.

If you have any questions about all of this, please ask them in our dedicated FAQ issue.

https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ee/issues/13855

You can also find more information here:

• https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ee/issues/13304
• https://about.gitlab.com/2019/08/23/a-single-codebase-for-gitlab-community-and-enterprise-edition/

Frequently Asked Questions

For an up to date list of questions and answers, please take a look at https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ee/issues/13855

What will we do with the repository names?

https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ee/ will become https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab, and https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce will become https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss.

Why rename gitlab-ce to gitlab-foss?

Using "gitlab" and "gitlab-ce" would be confusing, so we decided to rename gitlab-ce to gitlab-foss to make the purpose of this FOSS repository more clear

I created a merge requests for CE, and this got closed. What do I need to do?

You will need to create a merge request at https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ee/. This link will eventually redirect to https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab.

How does the licensing work in this new setup?

Everything in the ee/ directory is proprietary. Everything else is free and open source software. If your merge request does not change anything in the ee/ directory, the process of contributing changes is the same as when using the gitlab-ce repository.

Will you accept merge requests on the gitlab-ce/gitlab-foss project after it has been renamed?

No. Merge requests submitted to this project will be closed automatically.

Will I still be able to view old issues and merge requests in gitlab-ce/gitlab-foss?

Yes.

How will this affect users of GitLab CE using Omnibus?

No changes will be necessary, as the packages built remain the same.

How will this affect users of GitLab CE that build from source?

Once the project has been renamed, you will need to change your Git remotes to use this new URL. GitLab will take care of redirecting Git operations so there is no hard deadline, but we recommend doing this as soon as the projects have been renamed.

Where can I see a timeline of the remaining steps?

https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ee/issues/13304

Will community contributions submitted to the new "gitlab" repository be available in the new gitlab-foss repository?

Yes, these changes will be synced to gitlab-foss automatically, several times per day.

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