DT Alphabet

Subject: DT Alphabet
From: GUEST,Bill Kennedy
Date: 10 Oct 02 - 12:40 PM

anybody else notice that the alphabet as we know it is not always followed by the DT Browse feature, 'S' for example, search for ship, but scroll down and see what I mean

Subject: RE: DT Alphabet
From: wysiwyg
Date: 10 Oct 02 - 12:55 PM

As I understand it, the DT does not actually function via a table of contents alphabetically. The titles are searched up fresh each time you go.

Bill, with all due respect, who the heck cares? Find any other database that big, and you will find little oddities according to how it was constructed-- will "THE" always appear in alpha order if it's the first word of the title, is it it removed entirely? How about numbers-- listed separately or in the aplpha order for the word they represent? How about St.? By itself, or with Saint? or with Street?How aboout O and Oh? Did they standardize it or are they any old which way? What about O, Mary and O Mary? Together or strewn about? Then there's I'll and Ill. Together or not?

You look around at a resource, and you learn how to use it, if you want to use it. Or in spirituals, what about De Massa, will it be there or under The Massa. You use it best you can, good grief.

How do you manage with print indexes????? Is life such a challenge?

~Susan

Subject: RE: DT Alphabet
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 10 Oct 02 - 01:10 PM

Eckshully, there's a bug in the database product I use to create the DT that won't let me sort titles when the file size exceeds 14 mB or so. I'm working on this.

Titles, BTW, are sorted ingoring "The" and "A"

Subject: RE: DT Alphabet
From: GUEST,Bill Kennedy
Date: 10 Oct 02 - 02:38 PM

I work with databases all day every day, I know how to use them, and are familiar with quirks, and know not to search with 'a' or 'the', and I am not criticising your work, (get a life you pathetic creatures). JUST THOUGHT YOU"D LIKE TO KNOW, that when you browse, it does not always proceed alphabetically, as anyone would expect. Maybe you won't want to or can't correct it, if not, maybe a message in the FAQ about how to browse would help people.

Take the letter 'S' for example, it goes from SCHOONER to SNOW, continues all the way to SWING ON A STAR than goes back to SCHOONER.

Susan, I care, because not only myself, but others might use the browse feature to find a song and not find it, then post unnecessary queries that the likes of you will criticise them for, snidely, 'Why didn't you look in the DT first?', is that so hard to understand? With all due respect, take your lecture somewhere else.

Subject: RE: DT Alphabet
From: wysiwyg
Date: 10 Oct 02 - 02:54 PM

Screw off Bill, yer always bringing things up here instead of thoughtfully just writing to Dick, and it's tiresome, and for once I think I'll just let fly.

Lecture? A one-finger one, no more than that.

~Susan

Subject: RE: DT Alphabet
From: GUEST,Bill Kennedy
Date: 10 Oct 02 - 02:59 PM

all the best Susan, I don't know Dick, have not been invited to contact Dick, would not know how to contact Dick. Many other database issues are brought to attention this way, sincerely wanted to help make this site the best it can be. Never mind, do it yourself. That's it from me. (or should I just concentrate on thinking up BS threads?) nah, my life is too short to waste here anymore. Besides, who the heck cares? make that one less.

Subject: RE: DT Alphabet
From: wysiwyg
Date: 10 Oct 02 - 03:03 PM

How about in Quicklinks or the FAQ where it says CONTACT us?

~S~

Subject: RE: DT Alphabet
From: GUEST,Bill Kennedy
Date: 10 Oct 02 - 03:21 PM

what about all the times we're told 'don't bother Dick, some Joe Clone or Pene will fix it?'

really, this is my last post here, so might as well point out that contrary to Dick's advice about 'a' and 'the', in the 'A' browse, after Azeketal (sp?) you'll find all the titles that begin with A that should be elsewhere but are not. might want to correct that while you're at it. I'd point out other places for you, but I've got better things to do.

All the best, some of you have been a whole lot of fun
Slán

Subject: RE: DT Alphabet
From: wysiwyg
Date: 10 Oct 02 - 03:29 PM

Bill, I don't know what you are referring to, but what has been said ovre and over is that Max, Joe, and Pene run the forum but not the DT. It is hosted from here but it's Dick's to deal with. Every page of it asks people to contact him about corrections.

~Susan

Subject: RE: DT Alphabet
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Oct 02 - 05:49 PM

Well Susan,

I hope that you're pleased with yourself. Note how Dick was able to post a civil reply that answered the question clearly. You however, even though you have nothing to do with the running of this place had to weigh in with your usual busybody crap. This despite the fact that you obviously know f**k all about database design.

Bill,

I've enjoyed your contributions here and hope that you don't decide to leave merely because WYSIWYG is a silly cow.

Subject: RE: DT Alphabet
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 10 Oct 02 - 06:58 PM

You know we could work up a quarrel here over how to pull a Christmas Cracker!

I didn't read what Bill wrote as a complaint, just an interesting observation (which might even be useful to someone).

Subject: RE: DT Alphabet
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Oct 02 - 07:05 PM

I agree with you McGrath.

That said, we didn't start an arguement, Susan did. No idea why.

It would be sad if we lost a good contributor as a result of her small minded stupidity.

Subject: RE: DT Alphabet
From: Bill D
Date: 10 Oct 02 - 09:15 PM

Bill Kennedy had some points to make, and Susan had some useful views about them....but ...*sigh*....they were BOTH partly right

I had a friend once who was VERY smart and clever and was usually correct about her analyses of situations, but she was always bickering with others and NOT getting much respect .....there is an 'art' to being right without upsetting others, and we don't all have it in the same measure.



"A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger."

- Proverbs 15:1

(Yep...the Devil can quote scripture..*grin*)

Subject: RE: DT Alphabet
From: wysiwyg
Date: 10 Oct 02 - 09:33 PM

Oh get over it. If that's all it takes to make someone leave, big damn deal. I've left a time or two myself.

~S~

Subject: RE: DT Alphabet
From: Max
Date: 10 Oct 02 - 10:37 PM

Chill. WYSI, do not defend us. We can take care of ourselves. We take these posts as opportunities to improve ourselves. No need to run off folks for pointing out areas of possible improvement. How else would we know what to do next?

Subject: RE: DT Alphabet
From: Pene Azul
Date: 10 Oct 02 - 10:51 PM

All is now well with the online DT's alphabet. If anyone still sees problems with it, please let me know.

Jeff

Subject: RE: DT Alphabet
From: Joe Offer
Date: 11 Oct 02 - 10:22 PM

There is a bit of a problem understanding what everybody's talking about, since there are so many versions of the Digital Tradition. The online version is easiest to repair, and the alpha index and search now work better than they ever did. The 2002 DOS version also seems to be working very well. The Windows version still has some bugs, but this is the first full-release version we've had. I don't know anything about the Mac version.

I'll admit I hate searching with the Windows version of the database. As Dick said above, he's aware of the problem and he's working on it - but there will probably be no repair until the next edition comes out. In the meantime, use the DOS or online version for heavy-duty searching. If you can't find what you're looking for, start a thread and ask for it. If it's just a search problem, ask in the Help Forum. If it's a song that hasn't been posted, ask in the Music Forum.

-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: DT Alphabet
From: Dead Horse
Date: 29 Jun 13 - 09:25 PM

Very interesting.
An infinite number of monkeys spring to mind.

Subject: RE: DT Alphabet
From: GUEST
Date: 30 Jun 13 - 10:06 AM

"The infinite monkey theorem states that a monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter keyboard for an infinite amount of time will almost surely type a given text, such as the complete works of William Shakespeare." from Wikipedia


However, the internet proves that's not true.

Subject: RE: DT Alphabet
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 30 Jun 13 - 10:37 AM

Although the internet is quite large, the number of monkeys remains a little less than infinite.

There is also the defect in an increasing percentage of the participants being more like lemmings than like monkeys, incapable of independent thought and tiresomely following the lemming ass in front of them into the abyss of stupidity.

There is no randomness when everyone follows the latest fad, so the best analogy to the monkey theorem is that a very large number of lemmings will repeat the same vacuousness a (nearly) infinite number of times.

John