Ray wrote: "Although I am usually responsive to blaming the Americans for everything, it needs to be remarked that the capitalist charge in this matter has been led by an Australian" - which made me smile. The irony is that I also tend to blame the Americans for everything - and in this context, I blame them for *not* capitalising things when they ought to! So perhaps we had best categorise this particular Australian as one of Little Johnny Howard's "American Deputy Sherrifs in South-east Asia." .... Err - sorry, Jimbo. I know - no politics on the list. :)
Enough humour. When Ray wrote that "the problem ... operates on two levels" and that "as long as it is only on a stylistic level ..." he missed the point. It is *not* only stylistic, nor indeed even primarily stylistic: it is a matter of clear, unabiguous, and accurate communication. There are many long-tailed shrikes, but only one Long-tailed Shrike. It is not a matter of 'preffered styles", but a matter of a precise and correct name or a vague and incorrect name.
However, Ray's third point raises a significant issue. Creating lower-case redirects to entries that are (quite properly) capitalised involves a good deal of attention to detail - something that I can speal with authority about, as I have spent 20 or 30 hours attending to this stuff in the four days or so, It is tedius and a small number of mistakes will undoubtedly have slipped through. A technical solution would indeed be very welcome. The obvious starting point would be a search function that works. I understand that that matter is high on the developers' priority list, and wish them every success in the quest. Pending that (or more comprehensive technical solutions), it seems we will just have to rely on the trusty old Mark 1 Eyeball.
Tony Wilson (Tannin)