September 26, 2008
From DPCanadaWiki
Issue #21--September 26, 2008
(Full listing of previous issues is available at DPC Newsletters)
Featured Author Review
By IonaV
Josephine Tey was a pseudonym of Elizabeth Mackintosh (July 25, 1896–February 13, 1952), a Scottish author best known for her mystery novels.
DPC has done several of her books. Two of her books that include her hero "Scotland Yard Inspector Alan Grant", To Love & Be Wise and The Franchise Affair have been posted to PGC. A third book in that series, The Singing Sands is currently in P2.
Another mystery and also posted to PG Canada is Brat Farrar; it is about a young man coached to assume the identity of a missing heir. As is often usual in such stories, a dark secret rears its head to jeopardize the carefully laid plans....
Editorial
100th book for DPC's First Anniversary--As mentioned in Simple Simon's article last issue, we are coming up on DPC's first anniversary: December 1. We do have sufficient books in process to have 100 books posted to PGC by December 1. The question is: what book do we want for number 100? See the thread here: http://www.pgdpcanada.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=657 for further discussion and to add your suggestions.
Server and site problems--Simple Simon, coachmike and company have continued to work hard the last number of weeks. Things are improving, slowly but surely…. See below for update comments.
Also as part of the ongoing process to make the forums more "user" friendly, our Forum Moderator, IonaV, has created a forum specifically for problems that you might find on the site--whether in the forums, proofing or formatting interfaces, wiki pages, etc. She is in the process of moving threads to more appropriate forums.
Update revisions for Proofing Guidelines--Simple Simon is looking to do some revisions to the Proofing Guidelines with a revision coming out potentially in either October or November. There has been discussions about further changes to how ellipses will be handled--are we surprised?...
Any other comments anyone? You can post any comments or suggestions in the Suggestions for Proofreading Guidelines Revisions thread under the "Documentation Suggestions" forum.
Revisions to the Formatting Guidelines--Simple Simon has been working on these and making sure they fit together with the Version 2.0 Formatting Guidelines from DP-INT. Although we'll continue to switch to the Wiki format, he sees no reason why our formatting guidelines should be very different from theirs, except for obvious site differences, like UTF-8.
Comments regarding bad links to FAQs and Guidelines--coachmike is still at work on this; though some other things have slowed down the process, it will get done. We just have to be patient. Considering all the other things that have ended up on his plate in recent weeks...some things must wait. Once the server glitches have been solved, he should be able to do some more work on these.
Check out the list of "possible future articles" at the end of the newsletter--are you interested in contributing or do you know of someone who could, or would like to, contribute, we'd love to have your article and/or thoughts. And you can do so anonymouslyAnd you can do so anonymously if you choose. It doesn't have to be long: a sentence or two, a short paragraph or two, 500 words or more if you really like to "talk"; send a PM to Quill.
Simon Says... update re Server/Site problems
Server problems continue to be stubborn--seems to be a conflict between the September 2006 version of the site code we use and our server configuration. We're getting help from DP-INT Squirrels now, and they are recommending we implement several "interim" changes they made to their code after 2006 and before the full-scale update in 2007 (apparently to deal with similar problems they had at the time).
Anyway, the net result is--we can actually create a project now, and text pages load normally--and I've found a (laborious) way to force the images into the project folder via the Fix Bad page routine. In fact, I did this for a very small project [Ed: only 12 pages], and launched it successfully ("Forty-Two Stories translated from the Danish: The Garden of Eden", now in P1). This is not a solution, but could guarantee we don't run out of P1 work, if the bug fix stretches out that long.
In short, I'm optimistic we're getting there and hope to have a draft available for commentary in the near future.
Revisions to Guidelines, FAQs and the DPC site code
Revisions to the Formatting Guidelines.--As noted above, Simple Simon has started on these and hopes to have a draft ready soon.
He has also reiterated his promise that he will put together a combined Proofing/Foofing wiki page for those Formatters who like to have only one document open at a time but also want to be able to check on certain Proofing Guidelines.
Of course, we'll keep working our way through all of the FAQs and Guidelines, one by one--does anyone have any suggestions for other areas/activities that should have Guidelines or FAQs prepared?
Guidelines translations--Simple Simon has found a translator for the French version of our Proofing Guidelines which, since we plan to be a bilingual site, is the most important. Our fearless volunteer, punicafides, has begun a para by para French translation. Naturally, it is slow; but it's being done. MERCI BEAUCOUP, THANK YOU.
Translators for other languages are still needed, so...send a PM to Simple Simon if you would like to help. All that's necessary is the translation--we can put them into wiki page format.
Simple Simon noted in an earlier Simon Says... article that there are lots of things to get properly converted/coded before we upgrade and synchronize our site code with that of DP-INT or at least as close as we can since DPC is a UTF-8 site where DP-INT works in iso-8859-1. We must thank coachmike for all his hard work and try not to get too frustrated with the waiting....
ÜberProject #1: Chronicles of Canada
There continue to be lots of spaces for volunteers to PM, PP and even CP. To see the current status of the volumes, check out the ÜberProject wiki page for The Chronicles of Canada here: http://www.pgdpcanada.net/wiki/index.php/The_Chronicles_of_Canada.
- De2164 prepped a number of volumes and there are also several others that need prepping, so there's lots to do. CPers, PMs, PPers are all needed.
- Volume 27 is listed as a New Project. Volumes 1, 3 and 18 are in Post-Processing. I know that there are a couple more being prepped; we just need to get the bugs fixed so that they can be uploaded.
- PP standards have been set and the books do not have anything extremely difficult at all. Check the Chronicles wiki page for the PP standards. Some of the standards for PPing have been updated.
- Volumes 13, 17 and 24 are being done at DP-Int since the authors of these volumes are out of DPC's copyright purview. They will be posted to PG-Int in due time. For those that are interested, the books are in either the P2 or P3 waiting queues
- Four volumes have been posted to PGC: Volume 2: The Mariner of St Malo: A Chronicle of the Voyages of Jacques Cartier, Volume 5: The Seigneurs of old Canada: a Chronicle of New World Feudalism, Volume 20: Adventurers of the Far North, A Chronicle of the Arctic Seas and Volume 29: The Day of Sir John MacDonald, A Chronicle of the Early Years of the Dominion.
ÜberProject #2: Jesuit Relations
Vol. 65: Lower Canada, Mississippi Valley, 1696-1702, our first, is currently in P3: Available. Simple Simon is the PM and has decided that he will definitely PP this first volume, though he says that he will undoubtedly seek help from someone fluent in French to "look over his shoulder" on that side of things. He'll probably do the same for other languages as well.
Vol. 66: Illinois, Louisiana, Iroquois, Lower Canada, 1702-1712, our second, is in P1: Available. It is just like Vol. 65: strange characters, old style French spellings and accents, bits and pieces of other languages--lots of fun.
A set of standards has been determined and added to the Project Comments. An ÜberProject wiki page for Jesuit Relations has been created. It includes the basic instructions for proofing and formatting.
ÜberProject #3: Governor General's Award Books
Warmheart has created an ÜberProject page for this uberproject. The page looks very good and has lots of links. You can see the details of what she has completed to date here: http://www.pgdpcanada.net/wiki/index.php/Governor_General%27s_Literary_Awards Check it out, you might find something interesting there....
There are only a couple of books that are available since many of the authors are still alive--ah, well, we'll get them eventually. :)
ÜberProject #4: Periodicals
Graham's Magazine has been confirmed as the first part of our ongoing ÜberProject #4: Periodicals. Simple Simon has the entire first year of volumes in hand and will release them as demand calls for them. There are 3 issues currently undergoing proofing and/or formatting: one each in rounds P1, F1 and F2. There is an issue in under going post-processing and one issue: Graham's Magazine, Vol. XXXII, No. 2 (1848) has been posted to PGC.
In the starting block...--(that is, being prepped...) Our Young Folks, An illustrated Magazine for Boys and Girls; Issued monthly; Publication Dates: January 1865 thru October 1873 when it merged with St. Nicholas.
Comments from Warmheart: I have added about 20 pages to a "test" project which is sitting in New Projects--please have a peak ( http://www.pgdpcanada.net/c/project.php?id=projectID486eed9a125e2&detail_level=3 ). These pages are to "wet your appetite"; tell me what you think....
Since we've been having site problems and everyone involved is busy with that, there is nothing new to report.
Warmheart's wikipage for the Periodical can be found through this link: http://www.pgdpcanada.net/wiki/index.php/Our_Young_Folks.
Remember, these aren't the only periodicals that we can do--there are lots of others out there and some that are very different than "Graham's". Is there one that you'd like to do? Suggestions for favourite OLD periodicals are always welcome, but they must meet 3 criteria:
- published before 1860 to avoid the need for copyright checking
- good quality scans of a reasonable number of issues (preferably in whole volumes=a year)
- interesting content, out of the ordinary
We Grow Every Day
We are now up to 440 members. Welcome to all new members; I hope you find some projects that you will enjoy doing. Many of our members are also members of DP-Int/US and/or DP Europe--we welcome them and thank them for all their continued support and interest in DPC. (Numbers are accurate up to "press" time.)
| New | |
|---|---|
| September 2008 | 13 |
| August 2008 | 11 |
| July 2008 | 8 |
| Q2 2008 | 63 |
| Q1 2008 | 106 |
| 2007 total | 239 |
| Total to date | 440 |
Milestones
We are going to use this space to "celebrate" notable milestones achieved by a member, team, group or project. For example, we'll report when a member completes 5,000 pages in any one round; then we'll let you know when they've done 10,000 pages and so on.
The "team" numbers are the cumulative totals for each round for each member of each team. So that's why, for the "10,000 pages" totals Team German has the most F2 pages and for the "15,000 pages" totals Team USA has the most P3 pages. Another reason to join a team or two....
Completed 15,000 pages in a round:
- uwe-joachim in F2
- rolands in P3
- Team USA in P3
Completed 10,000 pages in a round:
- Team Canada in P1
- Team German in F2
Completed 5,000 pages in a round:
- Daniel G in P1
- De2164 in F1
- Warmheart in F1 New!!
- yajeulb in F1
- hugger1935 in F2
- Team Canada in P2 and F1
- DPing with Cats in F1 New!!
Great work, people!!!
Proofing & Formatting Stats
Please note, some of these numbers might be out somewhat due to the glitches from the changeover; however, once the glitches are fixed, I hope that I can get you more accurate numbers.
Although we're not quite to the end of September--still have 4 more days to go--all rounds have made their page goals. Great work, people!!!
But what do we see: F2 is in the lead and P3, though close, is still a ways behind. Amazing what a little encouragement does.... :wink:
| Round | P1 | P2 | P3 | F1 | F2 |
| September goal | 3,000 | 3,000 | 2,250 | 3,000 | 2,250 |
| *September to date | 3,700 | 3,280 | 3,097 | 3,120 | 3,704 |
| September to date % | 123.33 % | 109.33 % | 137.64 % | 104.00 % | 164.62 % |
*Numbers accurate to "press" time.
For more statistics and related links go to: Statistics Central.
Books In Process And/or Posted To PGC
At press time, we had 75 Gold Star books posted to PGC (with 3 in PPV). Fantastic work, all.
There are currently 86 Silver Star projects in post processing and 94 Bronze Star projects which are currently undergoing proofing or formatting. For more details about these projects, please see the listings on the bottom of the DP Welcome page.
User Team Talk
Have you checked out our user teams? To check out the teams or to join one go to: User Teams. The Team threads are located under Proofing Team Talk. Is there a team that you'd like to see? You can create a team from the link on the User Teams page--you might be surprised by who shows up to join you.
We now have 18 teams; but more are always welcome. Our newest team is "Foofers' Corner"--which has been set up for discussions between and support of F1 and F2 formatters. PPers are welcome as well to request that certain projects be given priority.
Possible Future Articles
This is YOUR newsletter: yes, there are forum posts and user team posts, but is there something that you want to tell the whole DPC community? You are allowed to brag here. You can also be anonymous if you choose ... we won't tell.
- Tips or Hints: for those people who do/did a lot of proofing and/or formatting on DP-Int/US &/or DP-Eur, do you have any tips or "rules" that you follow to help yourself while you proof or format? Even a re-wording of a guideline that helps you remember how to do something specific.
- Tell us why you joined DPC.
- Quotable Quotes: have you seen a thought-provoking quote that is relevant to the DP Community while you were doing your proofing that you just had to pass on?...
- The most interesting, outrageous, or strangest line you proofed: before it was proofed (if that was the outrageous or strange part) and what it was after proofing (please do not submit obscene language, it will not be published).
- New projects: PMs is there a series of books or books by a very prolific author that you'd like to do?--let us know so that we can help pass the word to the proofers so they'll be there to jump in and work on them.
- Kudos, Bouquets & Compliments: are there any DPers that you would like to give special thanks and/or recognition to: a mentor who gave you lots of guidance, a PPer that made your project into a very wonderful looking book for posting to PG, a CPer or image/text preparer who went the extra little bit to provide you with clean scans, well OCR'd text, or good illustrations for your project, another DPer who made you feel really welcome or provided you with some good advice or....
- "Guest articles" by anyone and everyone who wishes to....
