Hi Folks,
Times change, and sometimes it is hard to keep up. A small reminder
often helps.
In the "old days" when the CBT Tape collection was distributed only
on tape, before the Internet and our www.cbttape.org web site, it was
necessary to make updates to the collection very often, because the only
time you would see them, was on a new "tape version". Arnie sometimes
made 15 to 25 updates a year. Nowadays, with our web site, we only make
version changes to the "entire tape" perhaps twice a year. This is
because we have the UPDATES page, in addition to the CBT page.
My guess is that some people will not look at the Updates page much,
because they have an impression that the CBT page is somehow "more
official". It really isn't. That's the impression that I'm coming to
correct.
The only time when an item on the Updates page is less reliable than
an item on the CBT page, is when the particular item on the Updates page
is a newly revised contribution, and it is in flux, until the author is
completely satisfied that all things are corrected. Once that happens,
there is really no difference between the item on the Updates page and
an item on the CBT page.
When it's time to make a new version of the CBT tape itself, I
simply merge all the Updates files into the CBT files, and that's it.
Sometimes, I'll go over a file if I notice it needs some fixing at
"versioning" time, but usually, the Updates files go straight into the
CBT files, with no change. So really, there isn't any difference (in
reliability) between them.
I hope that sets the record straight. Please do not hesitate to use
the Updates files. Often they are BETTER than the CBT files, because
they have been fixed more recently. This is usually true when the file
is not a new file, but its number has existed on the CBT Tape previously.
All the best of everything to all of you.
Sincerely, Sam
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