From: DLPratt123@aol.com
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 1997 19:19:22 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: Us and Them and a FOO
Message-id: <970929191714_1496788886@emout06.mail.aol.com>

In a message dated 97-09-28 20:07:55 EDT, jaygee@primenet.com writes:

<< The point is that there cannot be a unified word source with members of one continent telling members of the other, "you have to unlearn n-thousand words you've been using for the last decade because ... " Do you really believe that they would consent to this? >>

If we want the game to flourish, we must take this historic opportunity to clean up our dictionary, and we must expect the British to do the same. (Using sources other than Merriam and Chambers for new words would actually add a fair number of easily defended words.)

Above all, you should not cast this as an us-vs.-them situation; it is in our mutual interest to work out a wordlist that can make organized play popular.

A better way to look at the whole process is to build a suitable dictionary from scratch, as almost anyone would rather be a builder than a garbage collector. << If you think unity is a good thing, you must accept the right of the British to determine their contribution to a combined dictionary. >>

I accept their and our responsibilities to do it right! << I urge everyone to overcome their feelings of uneasiness with the "alien" word source in the interests of fostering a unified platform for World English Scrabble. >>

Chambers is "alien" even by British standards. They have almost the same wealth of competent contemporary dictionaries as do we. Those other dictionaries agree with each other about as much as American dictionaries agree with each other. They disagree with Chambers almost as much as American dictionaries disagree with Chambers.

Is there anyone out there willing to say anything positive about UNNANELD? Is there anyone out there willing to deny that it would be easy to unlearn?

Jim, or more probably Chris, offered an anamonic for the SOWPODS hooks of KA. To point out the obvious, it would be just as easy to make/learn a new anamonic for KA for a suitable alternative to SOWPODS.

Those who think we can adopt SOWPODS, then clean it up, would be well advised to ponder seriously how vigorously Jim fought to keep six words that were deleted from the OSPD. The cleanup just won't happen. Do it right now, or watch the membership continue to decline.

Dan