As soon as a book is released in PG, a number of other sites copy this, make their own formats and release it.
Now when PG pre-releases a book this process will repeated. The other sites will make their own format and release the book.
When the final corrected book is posted to PG, very few sites would update their version. Our experience in correcting the earlier texts bears this out. Even when an updated and corrected version is posted, not many sites update their version. The old error ridden version continues.
Also the older version comes up when you google for the book.
For example Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen is EText#161. This was corrected and a new illustrated version posted in 2007 (#21839). But when you google you get only Etext#161. Fortunately this has also been updated in January, 2009.
Having done the illustrated version Solo, I know.
So in effect PG will be releasing a number of error-ridden books.
Again the side effects of this could be
Many active volunteers in D.P may lose interest. These are the proofers and formatters who do not get their name in the credit line. A drop in the active volunteers of DP is definitely not in the best interests of PG.
IMHO, it is for DP to decide whether the pre-release version should be released taking into account the sensitivities of the volunteers. Forum discussions in D.P can not be taken as the representative opinion of D.P volunteers.
D.P does not release crap unlike some of the software producers (including open source) who release software full of bugs and what not.
Sankar Viswanathan
On Fri, Feb 26, 2010 at 12:32 PM, Marcello Perathoner
<marcello@perathoner.de> wrote:
don kretz wrote:
It's not uncommon among programmers, either, I've found, apropo of nothing,
present company excepted, etc.
Its the proprietary software producers that let you wait forever and then release crap.
Now, which of these is DP?
--
Marcello Perathoner
webmaster@gutenberg.org
--
Sankar
Service to Humanity is Service to God