[sword-devel] Re: [osis-editors] The death of OSIS? (fwd)

[Troy A. Griffitts]

Come on osis-editors, deal with us software engineers!  Seems like we're 
all on the same page-- we'd like to REFUSE (not pass) the buck!  It can't 
be our job.  We CAN'T do it.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2004 11:25:21 +0100
From: Will Thimbleby <will at thimbleby.net>
Reply-To: SWORD Developers' Collaboration Forum <sword-devel at crosswire.org>
To: SWORD Developers' Collaboration Forum <sword-devel at crosswire.org>
Subject: [sword-devel] Re: [osis-editors] The death of OSIS?

Agreed. I think the concept of users wanting to change quotes is mostly 
academic. Has anyone actually wanted to do this? Really?

I believe (from a position of little knowledge) that the language rules for 
quotes in complex cases go beyond what style sheets can do.

There was a claim quotes are additions to the text. I disagree. If you go down 
this road, why would you stop at quotes? Surely commas are additions as well 
and what about other punctuation? I believe that quotes are part of the text as 
and where the translators placed them.

What this idea does is shift the responsibility of handle quotes for a language 
from the translator (probably a group of highly educated linguists -- 
specialised in each text and language) to the programmer. As a programmer I can 
tell you who I'd rather have deal quotes. Are you telling me that I (one 
illiterate programmer) would need to replace the specialised knowledge of teams 
of translators for each text and the hundreds of languages?


I think that almost nobody actually needs or wants this functionality, and that 
it puts the burden of generating the quotes onto the wrong shoulders. I also 
think that quotes are a part of the text, and I disagree with the idea that 
people will like you changing them.

--Will

On 11 Aug 2004, at 6:24 pm, Troy A. Griffitts wrote:
> 	Preserving original document quote content is also a concern, but my 
> overwhelming desire for this is to relieve the burden for myself to actually 
> KNOW OR CARE how all languages of the world render their quotes.
> 
> 		-Troy.

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