Topic: What language should be used in the Encyclopedia? The English language used in the UK and other parts of the world differs from that used in North America.

Response: There is a kind of English called International English, for worldwide purposes that is what to use, basically it avoids both Americanism and Britishisms.

Topic: Translating an encyclopedia into another language is an overwhelming project. It should be done by someone who translates it into his native language.

Response: Folks who are native speakers of the other language are best. We just need to wait til someone shows up.

Topic: One approach might be to follow each paragraph in English by the paragraph translated into the other language. This could be tried out gradually, adding more and more of an article and then starting on a few other articles

Response: That would be up to the Wikipedia editor, after all they are just like us and will translate the articles that strike their fancy, but often adding different material.

Topic: I have had correspondence in English with more than 50 people all over the world. Some of them were fluent in two or three other languages. In one place on the island of Borneo there are no roads so people travel by boat on crocodile infested rivers. In Malawi one family sleeps standing up when it rains because the roof leaks.

Response: Wow!

Topic: In poor countries some families could not afford to operate a computer even though it was given to them. Their diets are poor, they have no shoes, and sanitation is bad. They might be able to use computers in schools and libraries.

Response: One supposes a rising tide lifts all boats, eventually....

Topic: Schools or libraries would need to have several computers that can connect to the Internet so that each user would have time enough to use one

Response: Yes our little library here in Crestone, Colorado has 5 or 6 serving about 600 folks (but most of them have their own computer at home.

Topic: It takes too long to read a long Encyclopedia entry while connected to the Internet so there should be a way to copy it so that it can be read later.

Response: A printer is good for that or you can save the article.

Topic: It seems like a great idea to record the encyclopedia on a CD but by the time we can make a copy (an hour) it would be out of date. When a prominent person dies his article needs to be changed, when a government changes or a building is destroyed the encyclopedia needs to be updated.

Response: Might have to publish it like a magazine, as a weekly or monthly issue.

Topic: Subjects that have only an obscure mention should have their own article, other articles should be brought up date or deleted, new articles added.

Response: Yes obscure topics are important, finding the straight dope on obscure topics is half the fun.

Topic: This was dictated with Dragon NaturallySpeaking 7. Sometimes it works perfectly, at other times it prints out things that are not said or after the material is edited it inserts things on its own. Spell check changes things that are correct to something else.

Response: Cool.

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Merritt L. Perkins