Le 10 juil. 07 à 06:06, Michael Anderson a écrit :
I think that my point was lost in the analogy... My point about the calligraphy was that I've taken the time to really learn what makes a beautiful document from the study of classical texts and manuscripts that are the foundation of the modern typographical rules that govern professional publication. Most people just figure that they can learn as they go what makes a good looking document, which is why allowing access the the ability to create style files easily is a bad idea. If you don't know what makes a document beautiful, the you shouldn't be allowed to create a new style.
I'm not calligrapher expert, but I think that one doesn't need programming skills to know typographical rules. Conversely, an excellent programmer may be the worse calligrapher. Hence IMO, it doesn't make sense to argue that access to layouts creation should be limited to LaTeX coders.
As to Steve's intent, from what I gather, he feels that the problem with Word and the like is the software itself. The software, while inferior to LaTeX based publishing methods in every way, is a valid form of publishing. If someone has the training to properly create a document then the results can be quite acceptable. The problem is not with the software, it is with inexperienced people thinking that they can make professional quality documents without putting in the time to understand what a "professional quality" document really means. This lack of education in the general public to publishing standards is the root of my argument against making the creation of styles easier. If they don't have to take the journey to understand what has gone before then they will never learn why things are the way they are. I feel that the "coding" requirement for creation of a new style is a good and effective deterrent from letting just anyone get at that vital portion of the LaTeX code.
I think you won't educate people with this stratagem. This way, you'll force people to learn about code, not about calligraphy. Moreover, I think people educate themselves if they understand why they should. IMO, they won't understand why they should learn about LaTeX language in order to produce typographic layouts.
Mael.
