jim said:
>   How do you propose to deal with texts that have a large number
>   of “prefix” pages numbered something like “iii” for example?
>
>   How do you propose to deal with texts that have a large number
>   of “prefix” pages which are not numbered at all?
>
>   How do you propose to deal with texts where the numbering
>   scheme was screwed up in the original text?
>
>   How do you propose to deal with texts which do not count
>   illustration pages in their numbering scheme?
>
>   Etc.
>
>   Again, it’s great to have a simple system that works except
>   when it doesn’t work in which case it’s not so simple anymore.

gee, jim.

i just talked about how people get bamboozled by small issues,
which can be hurdled quite easily if you just set your mind to it...

and here you make a reply with a whole handful of small issues.
not even "small", really...  more like _tiny_...  even _teeny-tiny_...

indeed, if you really look at the example i discussed, you'll see
that several of your questions were answered there _already_...

so i'm not even going to go through the exercise of answering.

if you really want answers, you can generate them yourself, or
go back and look where i have been discussing this issue for
_many_years_, and review any one of those exhausting threads.

there _is_ such a thing as a stupid question.  i've asked them
myself, as have all of us.  and jim, you just asked a _handful._

but you know, jim, the thing i'm wondering is this...

i've held this position on intelligent filenaming conventions
for _years_ now.  and that's just counting on _this_listserve._
i've been practicing what i preach for about two decades now.

if there was really some problem with my system, don't you
think i would have discovered it by now?  do you really think
that you can come up with a reaction in your first 5 minutes
that i haven't experienced in the years and years and years
i've been doing intensely close analysis of book digitization?

i mean, _seriously_...  did you really think i just happened to
"overlook" that books generally have forward-matter pages,
and that those pages have a different pagenumber sequence?

and do you really think i just hadn't ever noticed that some
of the illustration-pages in books are unnumbered pages?

really?

so let me say this _again_, jim...  if you want to have dialog
with me, you _cannot_ say stupid things.  you simply cannot.

because i won't continue to talk with you if you do.  capiche?

-bowerbird