[sword-devel] WEB update request

[Chris Little]

David Blue (Mailing List addy) wrote:

> On Wednesday 11 August 2004 01:13 am, Chris Little wrote:
> 
>>We won't be publishing any additional GBF modules, ever. 
> 
> 
> I personally take some issue with this statement. Not with it's content but 
> with it's attitude. It just seems far too...mean spirited and condemning for 
> my tastes. It says to me that if I as a module creator, do not understand the 
> intricacies of XML or OSIS or have some sort of time constraint placed on the 
> publication that don't have time to encode my document as OSIS that my module 
> is not worth publication in sword because of how it is formatted regardless 
> of how useful the module is to fellow believers. 

Well, no.  We only accept module submissions in source format (i.e. no 
compiled modules).  If you submit a module in a format other than OSIS, 
it means someone (probably me) will have to convert it to OSIS.  That 
will delay its release, but it will probably be released eventually.

> As I said in another email...off list or on sword-support I believe, I am 
> personally willing to write full support for GBF. Just because we don't like 
> how it works doesn't mean we should just write it off as something that is 
> beneath us. No one gave me the memo that we were supposed to be limiting 
> choices around here.
>
> And I do apologize for the tone of this email, but this is something that's 
> bugged me for a while.

GBF doesn't offer anything that isn't offered by OSIS.  I don't see a 
reason to encourage use of multiple formats.  The Bible software world 
is full of formats used by one product, one site, one encoder, or one 
organization.  There is only one open standard used by a broad variety 
of products, sites, encoders, and organizations: OSIS.

True, not liking how it works doesn't mean we should necessarily write 
it off as something beneath us.  But if GBF has nothing to offer us, 
then why put effort into it that could be put into something else?  Why 
put effort into it that will never bear any fruit?

--Chris