From: alan d frank <alf@world.std.com>
Date: Wed, 24 Sep 1997 18:27:26 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: SOWPODS as a METAPHOR
Message-id: <Pine.SGI.3.95.970924181530.9726B-100000@world.std.com>
On Wed, 24 Sep 1997, Evan Simpson wrote, in part:
I am a SOWPODS advocate. I also would like a 'clean' source[1]. Trying to clean the sources before merging is the same as saying 'DON'T MERGE!'. OSPD has been around for a number of years, it has gone through a number of versions, why is it only now that people are talking of merging it with OSW is it so imperative that it gets cleaned? Ditto OSW. [1] Whatever that might mean.Simply merging SOW and PODS would dramatically increase both the percentage of inconsistencies and the percentage of unfamiliar words. Since many people have problems with these categories (at least when they first start playing, even if they get numbed to them later on and just memorize), a simple switch to SOWPODS would make the dictionary much less attractive to these people, and I would expect a drop in club attendance (though maybe not as much of an effect on tournaments).
Cleaning up might involve increasing consistency (especially with regard to the treatment of pluralized gerunds) and removing words which fulfill all three of the following criteria: only in one of SOW and PODS, rarely in current use, unfamiliar to most members of the general public even on their own side of the pond. (There should also probably be some consideration given to words which are only trademarks in one country, but that affects only a very few words.) Another possible example of consistency (I'm making this up): if PRECOLOR were in PODS, then SOWPODS should have PRECOLOUR.
--Alan