[sword-devel] Ideas for using ThML for general books

[Don A. Elbourne Jr.]

Paul,

Sorry. I misspelled "exorbitant" and then inadvertently clicked on the wrong
spell-check selection. But now that I think of it I guess exuberant could
apply depending on which side of the commercial venture you are on. :-)


In response to "FlameBait"...

<RequestedFlame_Rant>

OK... I can't hold it in any more...How ironic it is that everyone wants the
fruits of labor from the best of modern scholarship and the added editorial
value that established publishing houses provide, but no one wants to pay
for it. Last time I mentioned the "open-content model" the cry went up, "but
we don't want commentaries from any Tom, Dick, or Harry." Those who
lugubriously bemoan the supposed evils of the publishing industry are the
first to want to drink from their filtered fountain for free.

Its funny how a programmer armed with little more than "C++ for Dummies" and
a few months of training, can command $55 an hour for his services and he is
congratulated beyond measure. Yet a competent Bible Scholar with 12+ years
of College and Seminary, plus years of full-time study of ancient languages,
when he asks for simple remuneration for his publications, just so that he
can keep his family from starving, he is labeled a no-good money-grabbing
low-life not interested in anything but lining his pockets with filthy
lucre. The same goes for publishing companies that are simply trying to make
a living, feed their families, and produce high-quality resources for the
Christian community in the process.

I'll repeat, I'm glad for what The Sword Project is doing. their is great
potential for the cause of Christ in these efforts. I praise god that a
group of dedicated Christians are donating some of their spare time to this
worthy goal. but why do we have to bash those who do the same thing for a
living? Bob Pritchet and others have done an outstanding job. I've used
Logos for years and can not begin to tell you how much it has enhanced my
ministry. With all due respect to those working on the Win32 front-end, it
doesn't hold a candle to Bob's 16bit Logos that I've been using for about 7
years. Logos fills its niche. BibleWorks fills its niche. And The Sword
Project will fill its niche, if we keep our eyes on the goal. So instead of
bad-mouthing and competing with the commercial projects, why not focus on
creating a comparable interface for public domain works? That is what I
thought the Sword Project was all about.

</RequestedFlame_Rant>

I feel better already. :-) Thanks for inviting me to vent.


Don A. Elbourne Jr.
http://elbourne.org


> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-sword-devel@crosswire.org
> [mailto:owner-sword-devel@crosswire.org]On Behalf Of Paul Gear
> Sent: Monday, April 23, 2001 3:00 PM
> To: sword-devel@crosswire.org
> Subject: Re: [sword-devel] Ideas for using ThML for general books
>
>
> "Don A. Elbourne Jr." wrote:
>
> > ...
> > In addition to all the classics Harry has at our disposal, I
> can envision
> > pastors, teachers, and writers being able to format their own works into
> > ThML and distributing them from their web sites or on CD
> without having to
> > pay the exuberant royalty fees to anyone for doing so.
>
> Does that mean they are very joyous royalty fees?  :-)
>
> > I know that users of
> > the commercial Bible software packages have been clamoring for years for
> > self publishing features. I understand why these companies have
> been slow to
> > provide this functionality,
>
> <FlameBait comment="Let's see if this works...  :-)">
>
> Because they're interested in their bottom line ($$$) and pushing
> the agendas
> of major publishing houses ($$$) more than their users.
>
> Fancy to rent your books, anyone?  For a reasonable fee, of
> course.  Check out
> the beta release of Logos' new software "Titus"
> <http://www.logos.com/titus/xbeta> and you'll see an expiration
> date on your
> books.  It's not enabled for books you've bought under a previous Logos
> version, but it sure will be in the future.  What a crock!
>
> </FlameBait>
>
> > but none of those obstacles exist in a
> > non-commercial Open source model environment.
> >
> > If the Sword Project can meet these needs, it will make a lot
> of people very
> > happy. I know there is a lot to be done, but I see the
> potential. While I
> > might not be able to help much with C++ code, I will be an enthusiastic
> > cheerleader for these efforts. I think this is a worthy project
> that holds
> > great possibilities. And I believe God wants to bless it.
>
> Amen, brother.  Preach on!
>
> Paul
> ---------
> "He must become greater; i must become less." - John 3:30
> http://www.bigfoot.com/~paulgear
>
>