"R. David Murray" wrote:
> Sorry for dropping in to the middle of a conversation, but this
> comment puzzles me. I fail to see how:
>
> handbook + per-page comments from readers
>
> is *inferior* to:
>
> handbook with no comments
>
> given that the handbook maintainers do not have infinate time
> to polish the handbook, nor infinate knowledge about the
> quirks discoverd by the community.
1) Qualification of sources of information. Not every
commenting reader is adding something other than
"First Post! Nyah!".
2) Classification varies by individual; to present a
coherent whole, not everyone can be an editor. This
is why published collections of works have editors:
to apply a uniform standard.
3) Disinformatoin is not discernable from information.
Consider a dictionary created via a wiki:
o Some people could order their entries by length, while
others could order them alphabetically;
o Is the Schlossen before or after the character "S",
lexically?
o Who checks the facts?
o Copyright assignmnet (I guess you could "shrink wrap"
this).
> Good comments could be properly classified and incorporated into
> the text as the maintainers have time.
So you need an editor. I guess you are suggesting that they
would be incorporated into the handbook itself?
> On the other hand, I *can* see that it might be a non-trivial
> project to integrate the documentation system with a web
> comment system such that the two do not interfere with each other.
A web comment system will interfere. It can't help it.
-- Terry
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