josh said:
You can't just generate a list of "fixes" and hand it off to someone else to do the hard work.
well first, it _is_ acceptable -- and _perfectly_ so -- for a person to submit a simple report of an error (or even a complex report of thousands of errors) without generating all the "corrected" files themself. indeed, i'd guess _most_ error-reports are just that. (and surely, for someone who might find one typo, you don't want to receive a full set of files from them, you just want 'em to tell you where the typo is located.) but even aside from that, josh, don't split hairs. i could hand the whitewashers "a list of fixes" _and_ updated files _and_ complete changelogs _and_ the program i used to complete the task, which they could continue to use in the future to check new files to ensure they're consistent. and those whitewashers _still_ couldn't process thousands of updated e-texts in one fell swoop, not under their present updating policy, which calls for them to run through all their checks to move an e-text to the new directory structure... which was my point. didn't you get it? meanwhile, i can generate the new files _myself_ -- without the hassle of an obtuse workflow -- and host a library that _does_ have consistency, with files up and available as soon as they're fixed.
YOU need to do the work if it is something you feel needs to be done.
i don't care if project gutenberg's e-texts have their inconsistencies removed or not. i _do_ want a library that's free of inconsistencies, but i anticipate i will have to remove them myself. and i have no issues with doing that, as i have said. this is completely different, however, from drawing your attention to the fact of these inconsistencies, and raising your awareness of troubles they cause. in other words, i am doing y'all a great big favor by pointing out a deficiency in your output that could be corrected with a minimum of effort on your part, but would _greatly_ increase the value of your output. the only problem is, y'all would rather take offense than take a simple look at a problem in your methods. but again, if i am wrong on this, and the whitewashers will implement wholesale changes to get consistency, and make a commitment to ensure future consistency, then i _certainly_ hope someone will say that directly... -bowerbird