[sword-devel] CSNTM MSS Indexing Project

[Troy A. Griffitts]

Dear CrossWire Volunteers,

This is another call for volunteers.  We've made progress with the 
indexing tools and have a status page to coordinate efforts.  New, much 
simpler instructions are below.  Please consider volunteering for this 
valuable work for the Body of Christ.

______________________


Are you interested in ancient manuscripts of the NT?

Do you have the skills it takes to recognize what Greek text is on a 
manuscript page?

Are you looking for a wonderful project where you can volunteer your 
time for a very worthwhile cause?

If YES to all of the above, please read on.

CSNTM is an organization with a goal to photograph and make freely 
available images of all important NT manuscripts.  Their website is here:

http://csntm.org

CrossWire has been working on a basic manuscript indexing tool that will 
help volunteers help CSNTM index all of their images.

If you would like to help out and don't mind running a VERY early beta 
of our indexing tool, please follow these instructions:

1) Register an account on our community site at:

http://community.crosswire.org

2) After verifying your account and logging in, click on the [projects] 
tab, and then join the CSNTM MSS project, and then click the project link.

3) You will be presented with a status page showing for which documents 
CSNTM has images.  Click the _View Info_ link to see the information 
CSNTM has for these images.  Sometimes they will have a PDF document 
already containing Scriptural coverage of their images.  You might want 
to find a document with a small number of images, to start.  When you've 
found a document you are ready to index, click the _Claim 
Responsibility_ link.

4) A new document will be created in your personal library with this 
document.  Fill in any meta information-- much of this can be found in 
the CSNTM information about this document-- and click [Save].

5) Hit the [Load All Images At This URL] button and be patient while the 
images are slurped down and thumbnails are built.

6) Do some research on your document online, and using your Nestle-Aland 
GNT appendix.  Click on the first thumbnail to popup the image viewer, 
zoom in, and using your research your keen Greek skills, determine and 
enter the Biblical coverage of this page, e.g., Rom.1.1-3.19.  Be sure 
to hit the [Save] button for this image and move on to the next.

7) If you decide to NOT complete work on your document, please DELETE 
the document from your personal library, which will mark the document as 
available, once again, for another volunteer to claim.


PLEASE ENJOY YOURSELF AND SPREAD THE WORD TO WHOMEVER YOU FEEL MIGHT BE 
INTERESTED IN HELPING OUT.

The CSNTM guys are doing a wonderful work to collect these images and 
make them freely available.  This indexing project will provide the 
means to manipulate these images usefully from our software and other 
projects, and will provide the world with the easily accessible evidence 
attesting to the reliability of the New Testament.  I am really excited 
about this project and about collaborating together with you all and 
CSNTM on this work!  May God make use of these efforts to draw people to 
Himself.


     Serving together,

         -Troy A. Griffitts