re: accurately converted to any possible format
greg said:
Not all input books or types can be reasonably accurately converted to any possible format, especially for the older titles with no well-formed & valid HTML version.
as i've said for years now, with a small commitment from you to consistent formatting, i could take plain-ascii files as input, automatically apply the typographic niceties that are expected, and output the results to .pdf and to .html, such that the .html can be converted to a large number of other auxiliary formats. of course, i'm not unique. david moynihan has done it for years. david was willing to make a small commitment to edit the files himself so as to obtain that consistent formatting. i think it is more important to teach you how to fish than to give you fish. check with 3 tool-makers from distributed proofreaders -- thundergnat, donovan, and bill flis -- and they'll confirm that a clear path for ascii-to-(x)html conversion is quite workable -- due to the fact that d.p. now has the required consistency -- even with their current programs, and that if they worked on it a bit more, they could make it into a regular part of the workflow. there is no need for the more-complex switch to a .tei workflow. -bowerbird p.s. if you only would have accepted moynihan's offer of his files when he made it to you, you'd already _have_ a consistent library.
On Tue, May 23, 2006 at 12:51:27PM -0400, Bowerbird@aol.com wrote:
greg said:
Not all input books or types can be reasonably accurately converted to any possible format, especially for the older titles with no well-formed & valid HTML version.
as i've said for years now, with a small commitment from you to consistent formatting, i could take plain-ascii files as input, automatically apply the typographic niceties that are expected, and output the results to .pdf and to .html, such that the .html can be converted to a large number of other auxiliary formats.
Here's an eBook that should meet your requirements: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/18257 You already have server space, to provide a conversion utility. Looking forward the pudding...
of course, i'm not unique. david moynihan has done it for years.
david was willing to make a small commitment to edit the files himself so as to obtain that consistent formatting. i think it is more important to teach you how to fish than to give you fish.
check with 3 tool-makers from distributed proofreaders -- thundergnat, donovan, and bill flis -- and they'll confirm that a clear path for ascii-to-(x)html conversion is quite workable -- due to the fact that d.p. now has the required consistency -- even with their current programs, and that if they worked on it a bit more, they could make it into a regular part of the workflow.
You make it sound like I'm saying "no," when all I've ever said is "yes." If people are put off by trying to get things to "fit" in the existing www.gutenberg.org infrastructure, I have two other servers (snowy.arsc.alaska.edu and readingroo.ms) with complete copies of the PG collection for development. Currently, two different people are pursing their dreams/ideas on the readingroo.ms server. You're already on snowy, and there is room for more.
there is no need for the more-complex switch to a .tei workflow.
To each their own pudding. If I'm not saying "no" to you, why would I say, "no" to someone with a different approach? If people don't like the way DP does things, they can start their own DP (they can even get help!!). If people don't like the way PG postprocesses & posts eBooks, they can grab 'em and do their own postings. As long as there's a reasonable adherance to the principle of unlimited distribution etc. (http://www.gutenberg.org/about), we'll even link to 'em!
-bowerbird
p.s. if you only would have accepted moynihan's offer of his files when he made it to you, you'd already _have_ a consistent library.
I don't recall turning down David, but might have on the grounds of being unable to effectively ingest & manage the files he was producing. Today, I'd offer him his own server space to help him do things his way. -- Greg
On Tue, 23 May 2006, Greg Newby wrote:
p.s. if you only would have accepted moynihan's offer of his files when he made it to you, you'd already _have_ a consistent library.
I don't recall turning down David, but might have on the grounds of being unable to effectively ingest & manage the files he was producing. Today, I'd offer him his own server space to help him do things his way.
If I remember correctly, a big issue with the David Moynihan files was that many of them were not copyright-cleared for PG, and incorporating them into the PG collection would have taken a lot of effort. Andrew
On Wed, May 24, 2006 at 10:00:07PM -0700, Andrew Sly wrote:
On Tue, 23 May 2006, Greg Newby wrote:
p.s. if you only would have accepted moynihan's offer of his files when he made it to you, you'd already _have_ a consistent library.
I don't recall turning down David, but might have on the grounds of being unable to effectively ingest & manage the files he was producing. Today, I'd offer him his own server space to help him do things his way.
If I remember correctly, a big issue with the David Moynihan files was that many of them were not copyright-cleared for PG, and incorporating them into the PG collection would have taken a lot of effort.
Andrew
That's true. Today, we have preprints.readingroo.ms, and www.gutenberg.us that have easier procedures for copyright clearance. But very many of David's eBooks are PG titles, just reformatted, and with the PG header/footer/license stripped. -- Greg
participants (3)
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Andrew Sly -
Bowerbird＠aol.com -
Greg Newby