[bksvol-discuss] Re: priorities and time line for accomplishing them
- From: talmage@xxxxxxxxxx
- To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2008 08:00:14 -0500
It's probably been a year or more since I've played this tune, but I
think it's time again.
Ditch the stripper!
Software utilities are supposed to be beneficial and save the user effort.
The stripper does exactly the opposite. We spend more time
discussing, and attempting to implement, methods of protecting text,
page numbers, chapter titles, etc. than just about anything else on
the list. Some even go to the extent of normalizing headers and
footers, so the stripper can later get rid of them. What a massive
waste of time!
I personally believe there are just too many variables, when dealing
with headers and footers, to ever produce a stripper that would
perform adequately, much less flawlessly. The developers of the
stripper have to consider such things as: placement, style, font,
pitch, content, similarity, and most importantly the scan quality.
It would save the staff time from having to locate and fix problems
associated with an over zealous stripper; it would save the
volunteers time in having a standard policy of deleting headers and
footers without the worry of adding *s, or exact page number and
chapter heading placement, counting blank lines, etc.; and it would
free up the programmers to deal with other pressing issues. It would
also cut down on a significant bit of traffic on the list associated
with how to deal with stripper issues.
I think the stripper has become more a challenge, and hobby (i.e. we
have the technology, knowledge, and should be able to get this thing
working), than anything else. As the saying goes, there's a time to
stop throwing good money after bad.
Dave
At 05:33 AM 3/7/2008, you wrote:
Monica I read your note about Jake working with bookshare with
interest. I am glad you found that out. I never would have know
without your note.
Now my comments on the rest of your message regarding time lines.
First I agree that these kind of coding changes often take weeks or
months to implement rather than days when fixing a web site.
However, my previous concerns regard issues which have been around
for longer than you have been with bookshare and longer than I have
either. They involve the page headers and footers issue, page
numbers and the stripper. Such issues have been giving volunteers
trouble for over six years. They existed before I began volunteering.
I understand things taking weeks or months. This question of waiting
six years for a fix and then taking on more priorities begore the
fix of the stripper does need addressing.
I know you value your role as a peacemaker and a volunteer. You are
doing a great job. This is to be taken as concern about bookshare
priorities rather than a personal criticism of any specific
volunteer or bookshare staff member. Issues having to do with page
headers and footers and the stripper existed long before Lisa
Friendly or most of the current staff members or volunteers were
even with bookshare. All I ask for is a time line giving their
priority given all bookshare's new tasks.
A few months is understandable. Six years is less understandable.
E.
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