robert said:
>   Most verse can be distinguished from prose
>   by the preponderance of
>   capitalization at the beginnings of lines, and
>   the preponderance of punctuation at the ends of lines

right.  and when it happens to utilize end-line rhymes,
those are pretty easy for a machine to spot as well...      :+)

but did i miss something?  have end-users started
clamoring for machines to track down poetry now?
even though i'm a performance poet, not a print poet,
a development like that would be encouraging to me!

alas, i fear there is no such clamoring, i am sad to say...


>   which heuristics work until you meet e e cummings.

no heuristics work for cummings.         :+)

the definition of imaginativeness is that it defies heuristics.


>   But then, it has always struck me that
>   the goal of zml is to meet 90% of your needs,
>   90% of the time.

it's improving all the time, so the goal is now
93% of your needs, 97.2% of the time...        ;+)

-bowerbird

p.s.  the "current" z.m.l. spec is over a year old now.
i don't think it's changed much, if at all, in that time,
but it's not "new" to anyone who has been listening...

p.p.s.  if you find any people who _need_ poetry,
please do be sure and let me know, right away!