On 2012-09-22, Roger wrote:
Jon, on your PG library improvement project, as I understand it you want to create a match the scan version of each text in UTF-8. What UTF-8 cannot represent is variable whitespace unless the RTT is monospaced. Is that your intent?
It probably wouldn't be possible to capture variable whitespace in the RTT -- a central premise of the plan is that DP procedures are completely locked down and we get out of their current workflow what we can. However, the MS _does_ capture the variable whitespace, so the information is not lost, just less easy to access. An interesting featurette: if you view the RTT in a proportional font with full justification, the original spacing _will_ more or less be retained, along with the original line lengths and hyphenation.
A lot of text might make it to a RTT edition and just sit there. That's not a bad thing, though, since the prime mission of capturing the text will have been completed. Final rendering can take place later, even to formats that haven't been invented, if the reference text is right.
If a text that is currently in the library makes it to an RTT edition, the WWs can use the RTT to remove any discovered errors from the current renderings, so that still counts as a win even if no final rendering is ever done. I hadn't really considered RTT editions of a new text, but they may be usable as an ebook themselves if the text is simple, and will certainly allow proper searching of the MS (Jeroans concept). My impression (and it is only an impression) from lurking around various forums and list-servers is that there is a lot of frustration at current renderings and a lot of appetite for doing the final renderings. Hopefully the MS and RTT will be the catalyst required.
Guess I can't "shoot it down in flames" as you hoped. Let's hear what others say. Perhaps you only need 41 people now.
Et tu, Brute? It looks like I may have to rely on Louise. :-) Cheers Jon