=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= EDline Vol. 2, no. 44 (2 November 1997) Editorial mailing list Published by the Electric Editors =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Contents: Q & A---Previous queries [2bi] "Pushing the envelope" [2bo] More jargon [2bs] Space and time [2bt] On-screen editing [2bu] Convoluted quantitating Q & A---New queries [2bx] Finding a publisher [2by] Style manuals of computer terms FYI [3bd] US Copyright extension [3be] WWI poetry seminars Business matters---New posting [4ac] Editor-in-Chief for Translation Project [5] Bookmarks [6] Just for fun [8] Administration =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ---[2] Q & A --------------------------------------------------------- ** [2bi] "Pushing the envelope" Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 From: Gary Erickson, garjak@garjak.com Josephine Bacon wrote: > A moving object has a pocket of air surrounding it which moves > with it, and which is called the kinematic envelope. That is > why you have a rush of air in front of a train as it pulls into > an underground station. You can feel it more acutely in a closed > space. Obviously they mean they are going to so fast they are > almost moving ahead of the kinematic envelope (a physical > impossibility of course). By the by, moving ahead of the "kinematic envelople" is not impossible. In your context, the "kinematic envelope" is moving at the speed of sound. So for speeds less than this (such as trains), it called subsonic. If you exceed the "kinematic envelope" you are moving supersonic (such as fighter aircraft). +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [2bo] More jargon Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 From: Kathy Stackhouse, 110075.1153@compuserve.com Frances O'Sullivan-Smith wrote: > it does seem to be a British mannerism to use brand names in > this way [i.e. as generic terms]. Can anyone explain why? I'm not convinced it's a national habit of anyone. It seems that people apply the first trade name to which they are exposed to all other later products of the same sort. For example, for a long time before perestroika and the invasion of Russia by Western brands, sneakers were "kedy" from the brand name Keds. A permanent markers is a "flomaster". In America Xerox is generic because it was the name of the first copying machine to enter the mass consciousness. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [2bs] Space and time Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 From: Eddie Kent, Eddie.Kent@mcr1.poptel.org.uk It was surprising to see how many people have opinions on space-time. Of course they are all correct in stating that it should take an en-rule, but I have never seen it written that way. I glanced through several books and found a hyphen in every case. In fact Einstein's 1920 'The Meaning of Relativity' (translated by E.P. Adams) on p. 29 introduces the 'time-space' concept, with a hyphen. It became necessary because Einstein had managed to banish simultaneity. That is, it was in general no longer possible for two events to occur at the same time, nor even to say which happened first. Thus to find the interval between two objects (called distance in three and fewer dimensions), it is important to assign a time to each. Thus an event is fixed in position by three coordinates of space and one of time. A continuum is just a compact continuous set, that is, for any two points in it, no matter how close, you can get another point in between. So the real numbers form a continuum, as does the whole of space and time. The final idea that was bandied about in Edline was that of a tensor. This is a pretty fearsome concept and best avoided. Simplistically, a zero-order tensor corresponds to something like a number, first-order gives a vector, and a second-order tensor is the product of a vector space with itself (and its dual) and is represented as a matrix. You are already in a realm where even the best minds start to go haywire. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [2bt] On-screen editing Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 From: Jane Bryant, jane@snocat.demon.co.uk It's very rare for me to accept anything but on-screen editing, and what I provide depends very much on what my clients want. I do all my text editing in MS Word because it gives me a lot of options for saving files in different formats. Generally I don't style headings text etc in any but the most basic way (e.g. setting initial caps/lower case) because styles don't always carry over. I then have to laboriously mark up a hard copy (all my clients insist on a printout of the edited files), which is a convenient place to mark any specific styles, figure placement etc. However, I *do* include local formatting if I possibly can for essential italics, en rules etc (saves me marking up the hard copy specially). My preference is to work closely with a designer/typesetter who is using QuarkXPress, because we can discuss styles and I can then tag everything in the Word files with the style titles that are going to be used in Quark. The actual style I use doesn't matter - as long as the titles are the same as in the Quark template Quark will override any of the Word styles except local formatting (although some symbols don't carry through). It makes styling the proofs a lot quicker because as you import the text it flows in in the correct style. If I'm editing and doing layout the I always use this system because it works. Some clients insist you use their system of tagging - for example, for chapter head

/ for starting and finishing A headings. I hate this - it's so easy to miss the closing chevron/bracket, even after reading through several times. SGML I can't be bothered with - possibly because I've never had to. BTW, if you're working on disk it's always worth getting in touch with the person who's actually going to be setting the text. Several times recently I have laboriously saved my files as text only for PC - to find out later that the typesetter used exactly the same system as me and I could have saved a lot of time and effort that I'd wasted converting. Even better if they are on email - files travel hundreds of miles in a matter of seconds! ----------------------- Date: Thur, 30 Oct 1997 From: Hilary Powers, 72120.1324@compuserve.com My clients are all book publishers. Some of them use word processor styles, some use commands tailored to their page layout software, and some use a mix. None use either SGML or paper markup in connection with an online edit (except for figures and tables, which are often edited on paper). Typical pager codes are things like "[H1]" or "@H1:" to designate a first-level head. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [2bu] Convoluted quantitating Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 From: Laurel Beecher, beecher@iaehv.IAEhv.nl "Convolved" is the correct word to use in the context given. All three of my textbooks on digital signal processing use the word "convolve" when discussing the convolution of two signals. I did not find "convolute" when I skimmed through the relevant sections in the textbooks, and I can't recall it from my days working as an electrical engineer. Not that this will add more weight to the claim, but for the record, Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary has an entry for "convolve". ----------------------- Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 From: Anne Brown, Brown_Bunch@classic.msn.com Do we really have to use the American quantitate when we have the perfectly acceptable, and in my view preferable, quantify? +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [2bx] Finding a publisher Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 From: Petra Kopp, kopp@zetnet.co.uk A friend (honestly!) has written a 100,000-word crime novel and asked me how he might go about trying to find a publisher. Does anyone have any ideas on where he could start: whom might he approach, what are the sorts of things to be aware of? Thanks for any suggestions. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [2by] Style manuals of computer terms [Cross-posted from Editorial-L (Australia). Any EDline responses to this thread will be cross-posted back to Editorial-L ---IDB] Date: Thur, 30 Oct 1997 From: Michael Lockett I am trying to locate some authoritative style manuals of computing terms written for editors. Examples of the sorts of matters I'd like clarification on include: * capitalisation of words (eg Web/web; Internet/internet; HyperText/Hypertext) * capitalisation of units of measurement (MHz; Mb) * conflation of terms (home page/homepage; web site/website) * hyphenation (e-mail/email) * bibliographic referencing of Web addresses * referencing of quotes sourced from Web sites ----------------------- Date: Thur, 30 Oct 1997 From: Irene Wong 1 I don't have the exact title with me at home, but there is a microsoft style manual guide published by Microsoft Press. From memory it is $50-60ish and includes a 3" disk of the contents. Of course not everyone agree with Microsoft but it is a standard book. ... 2 If you visit the AGPS site you can read about the Electronic publishing standards they are involved with developing. They might produce a list like this. I notice that Vol 3 No 4 1997 of "Style Wise" lists 8 common problem words. ----------------------- Date: Thur, 30 Oct 1997 From: Stefanie Pearce The latest issue of 'Stylewise' from the Australian Government Publishing Service (AGPS), titled 'Netwrite (Writing for the Internet)', (vol. 3, no. 3) contains information on writing for the Internet. Included on page 2 was a brief piece listing 'the correct buzz on words which can cause problems as to preferred Commonwealth style or just because they're difficult'. These were: CD-ROM Internet intranet mark-up languages netiquette print-out spellcheck/er Web sites You can subscribe to 'Stylewise' for free by writing to: The Editor, 'Stylewise', Australian Government Publishing Service GPO Box 84, Canberra, ACT 2601 or telephone the friendly, helpful editors there for advice on: (02) 6295 4719, fax (02) 6295 4176 or e-mail the editor: lindsay.mackerras@das.gov.au A new edition of the Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary has just been published. Does anyone out there know if it includes computer terms such as those mentioned by Michael Lockett? ---------------------- Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 From: Cathy Gray, cgray@mpx.com.au The AGPS is also working on a style guide for electronic publishing, a draft of which will be placed on the AGPS home page at: < http://www.agps.gov.au/whatsnew/epub.htm > In the meantime they've recently published the first issue of an Electronic Standards Bulletin and anyone can receive future issues of this publication by getting in touch with AGPS. There's also an Internet citation guide at: < http://h-net.msu.edu/~africa/citation.html > ---[3] FYI ---------------------------------------------------------- ** [3bd] US Copyright extension Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 From: Dennis S. Karjala, karja003@tc.umn.edu [Cross-posted from Humanist Discussion Group] Historians, biographers, archivists, and scholars generally should be aware that Congress is again considering action on a piece of welfare legislation that will cost the U.S. public and the academic communities dearly. This is the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1997 (S.505, introduced by Senator Hatch, and H.R. 2589, which has already moved unanimously out of the House Subcommittee and been referred to the entire House Judiciary Committee). These bills would add 20 years to the term of copyright protection for all works--not just those created after adoption of the bills but even those already in existence. This would include books, music, and films from the 1920's of great historical and cultural significance that otherwise are about to enter the public domain. This public-domain-robbing legislation would also add 20 years to the term of protection for old, previously unpublished letters, diaries, and other works that get published prior to the year 2003. Under CURRENT law, these old works are protected by copyright until 2003, and if published before that year they remain protected until 2028. For example, I have recently heard from a correspondent that Indiana University has placed on line published a number of papers dating back to 1789 or perhaps even earlier, not previously published, that represent "a major advancement to ease the work of research." By virtue of their on-line publication, these papers will remain copyright-protected until the year 2028. If the current legislation passes, they will remain protected until 2048! Whether or not Indiana University infringed anyone's copyright in placing the papers on line (that depends on whether the University had permission or, if not, whether it was a "fair use"), any subsequent use of these research materials would be an infringement if copies are made or distributed without permission of the copyright owners--whoever and wherever they are. The proposed legislation is no more than a welfare measure to those persons who own copyrights on old works--a wealth transfer imposed on the American public for the benefit of large corporations (like Disney, whose copyright on Mickey Mouse has only a decade or so to run) and descendants of creative authors like George Gershwin or Oscar Hammerstein II. Schools that wish to publicly perform plays and music, archivists who wish to restore lost or forgotten works, scholars and creative artists who wish to use these cultural building blocks in creating new works, and the U.S. public in general through its royalty payments will foot a very heavy bill. New creativity and scholarship will suffer badly and irretrievably. Excessive copyright terms hurt the general public but feather the nests of copyright interest groups, who actively contribute to congressional campaigns--especially the campaigns of members of the two Judiciary Committees, which deal with intellectual property legislation. Scholars, librarians, educators, and consumer advocates are worn out with the continuous assault on the public domain. As Congress moves toward taking yet another big bite out of the public domain, the territory lies virtually undefended. It will pass unless a true public interest spirit is instilled in enough voices to make Congress listen. For more detailed information, ... visit the "Opposing Copyright Extension" web page at < http://www.public.asu.edu/~dkarjala > Dennis S. Karjala Irving Younger Visiting Professor of Law University of Minnesota Law School +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [3be] WWI poetry seminars Date: Wed, 1 Oct 1997 From: Stuart Lee, stuart.lee@computing-services.oxford.ac.uk [Cross-posted from Humanist Discussion Group] JISC TECHNOLOGIES APPLICATION PROGRAMME (JTAP) VIRTUAL SEMINARS FOR TEACHING LITERATURE PROJECT Humanities Computing Unit Oxford University Computing Services < http://info.ox.ac.uk/jtap/ > The Virtual Seminars Project (funded under JISC's JTAP initiative) are pleased to announce the availability of the following four web-based tutorials to teach First World War poetry. Access to all the material is free of charge, but please note that copyright restrictions apply to several items. Tutorials < http://info.ox.ac.uk/jtap/tutorials/ >: 1. An Introduction to WWI poetry Introduces the life and works of a number of First World War poets < http://info.ox.ac.uk/jtap/tutorials/intro/ > 2. 'Break of Day in the Trenches' An in-depth look at the poet Isaac Rosenberg, based around his poem 'Break of Day in the Trenches' < http://info.ox.ac.uk/oucs/humanities/rose/ > 3. An Introduction to Manuscript Study Introduces editorial practices and manuscript studies. You will be taken through the various stages involved in the creation of an edition. < http://info.ox.ac.uk/jtap/tutorials/manuscript/ > 4. An Introduction to Text Analysis Introduces the use of concordances, and the study of a concordance of Wilfred Owen's war poetry. < http://paulg.oucs.ox.ac.uk/tactweb/ > The researchers on this project warmly welcome any comments or suggestions for improvement. They would also like to hear from anyone who intends to use these tutorials in their teaching. Please send all comments to jtap@oucs.ox.ac.uk ---[4] Business matters ---------------------------------------------- ** [4ac] Editor-in-Chief for Translation Project Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 From: Kathleen Lyle, edserve@klyle.demon.co.uk You will see from the message below that these people are looking for an editor to do some work at very short notice for a Finnish telecom company - this ought to mean that they are prepared top rates for it. I can't possibly take it on myself, and have told him so, but I wondered if you might be interested or could put him in touch with anyone else who is? ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Dear Kathleen Lyle, I got your e-mail address from my colleague Sheryl Hinkanen. The Translators' Co-operative of Finland is looking for a person qualified to act as Editor in Chief for a new translation project, which may start with very short notice. The text consists of internal educational material concerning the software products included in Microsoft Office 97 suite of programs. There will be two translators, and (hopefully) one terminologist and one editor in chief, who will take on the responsibility for the final deliveries. The text volume is 89 pages. The target group are employees of a large, Finnish telecommunications company, working in UK and many other countries outside of Finland. Final deliveries may have to be available at our customer's site as soon as 6 Nov 1997 (around 9:00 AM CET + 1). Would you be interested in this project? If you are not available, would you be in a position to advice me somebody else to contact? Best regards, Arne Larsson Arne.Larsson@tlingva.pp.fi Teknolingva Oy http://personal.eunet.fi/pp/tlingva/ Boställsbrinken 3 D FIN-00410 HELSINGFORS Finland Tel/fax: +358 9 566 69 06 VAT-no: FI06912465 ---[5] Bookmarks ----------------------------------------------------- Take a look at the new Electric Editors Site of the Month: Portico, the online information server of the British Library: < http://portico.bl.uk > ---------------------- Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 From: Iain Brown, i_brown@compuserve.com Another bookmark dealing with electronic citing: < http://www.astro.gla.ac.uk/users/norman/lists/epub.html > ----------------------- Date: Thur, 30 Oct 1997 From: Ian Kingston, ian@ikingston.demon.co.uk OUP has set up an OED Online page. At present it's just a demonstration, but it's clearly intended to provide a complete search facility for the OED and other related publications. It's not clear whether OUP intends to charge for access to the finished version or not, but it's worth a look. The URL is: < http://www.oed.com/oetc.html > ---[6] Just for fun -------------------------------------------------- "Lines from the slushpile", no. 7 Then, when man's hatred for his brother had ripened like a swollen fruit, the fighting started and like a bastard child we named it the Civil War. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ _Faux-pas_ of the week Date: Sat, 1 Nov 1997 From: Jane Kerr, bywater@zetnet.co.uk More from the word-processor manual: perhaps the author should follow her own advice? "It is good practise to check your document for spelling and grammatical mistakes before printing the final copy." ---[8] Administration ------------------------------------------------ EDline provides the opportunity for a weekly online discussion of matters editorial and editorial business. * POSTING MESSAGES TO THE LIST All messages to be posted to the list should be sent to either Jane Kerr, at: bywater@zetnet.co.uk or Iain Brown, at: i_brown@compuserve.com Include as the subject line, "EDline [topic]", where [topic] is the subject under discussion. Topics might include areas such as Grammar, Spelling, American English or Punctuation. Messages should be pertinent to the basic premise of the list; they may be withheld, or redirected if more pertinent to one of the other mailing lists. The spelling and grammar of messages will *not* be corrected, but some editing of length may be undertaken. Quoting from previous messages: quote as much as you need to make the context of your reply clear, but no more. * Administration All messages of a subscription or administrative nature should be directed to Iain Brown at: i_brown@compuserve.com with "EDline ADMIN" in the subject line. * To subscribe to Grapevine To subscribe to Grapevine, the discussion list concerned with matters computing, please e-mail Electric Editors at: ElectricEds@bigfoot.com with [Subscribe Grapevine] in the subject line. * To subscribe to LANGline To subscribe to LANGline, which discusses modern languages, translation and editing in non-English languages, please e-mail Electric Editors at: ElectricEds@bigfoot.com with [Subscribe LANGline] in the subject line. *Homepage and back issues: Visit the Electric Editors at: < http://www.ikingston.demon.co.uk/ee/home.htm > Back issues of all three mailing lists are available on the Mailing Lists archive page. --------- ** The views expressed in this mailing list are strictly those of the individual contributors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the moderators or of the Electric Editors. ** Articles (c) 1997, by individual contributors Design (c) 1996, 1997 Iain Brown =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= END OF EDline 2.44 Next issue: 9 November 1997 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=