From: William Overington (WOverington@ngo.globalnet.co.uk)
Date: Wed Oct 30 2002 - 02:20:18 EST
Well, the comet circumflex system has had one public review so far.
Most of the review is about the way in which I design web pages. The reason
that I use SIZE=5 lettering is that when I started producing web pages I
found that SIZE=4 did not seem to come out right on a web page, some sort of
aliasing problem with the font I suspect, so I used SIZE=5, which, like
SIZE=7, seems to always look good typographically. Also, I took my basis
for page design regarding type size from the display used for teletext on
television screens. Certainly that is intended for viewing from a distance
on a larger screen, yet I do dislike web pages where one needs to peer hard
at the screen from close up in order to read the text. I have found that
with SIZE=5 one can sit back and read slowly and deliberately without the
display medium being a factor in the understanding of the text.
Larger text than many web pages use is not a problem over using more paper
in the way that printing a hard copy document all in 36 point type would be,
as the electronic surface on which the larger type is displayed on a web
page costs no more than if I had used a smaller total area for the document.
In relation to the comet circumflex system itself, well, these are early
days for implementing the comet circumflex system and much of the documents
are necessarily in the precise all-but-pedantic detail necessary to specify
precise encoding of comet circumflex sentences using Unicode characters.
I suspect that the expressive power of the comet circumflex system will
increase significantly as the number of encoded sentences increases, maybe
with even some sort of exponential effect. However, rather than start by
devising and publishing lots of sentences I decided to start with just a few
sentences, about the number necessary in order to demonstrate that the comet
circumflex system can work in practice. In the classic British manner of
"if in doubt, talk about the weather" the sentences are about the weather.
I am hoping that the comet circumflex system will find its niche in
internationalization. For example, is the internationalized poetry of the
comet circumflex system a first in the field of internationalization and
localization? Is such poetry an artform in its own right? I have had great
enjoyment in trying to write poems using the comet circumflex system, trying
to express meaning within the tight constraints of the available language.
I am fascinated to think that it someone translates the sentences into their
own language that someone else who speaks that language yet does not know
any English might be able to enjoy a poem written by me in the comet
circumflex language.
An interesting matter is that, now that the Unicode conference has been
renamed the Internationalization and Unicode conference, whether discussions
of internationalization are now automatically on-topic for this mailing
list.
An unfortunate aspect of the review is that it does not state any specific
reasons for the comment made about the comet circumflex system itself. I
have found that when people have expressed reasons for their comments that
that is usually extremely helpful and guides me to thinking through the
reasons given. So, I do wonder if perhaps the specific reasons for the
comments could please be stated so that both I and other readers may
consider the comments in the context of the reasons, so that a critical
assessment of the reasoning for the comments could be made. I am not a
linguist, so the precise high quality comments of a linguist could be
invaluable in thinking out the route of progress for the comet circumflex
system.
I have recently been trying to devise a simulation of a web-based shop which
uses the comet circumflex system. It will need some more comet circumflex
sentences to be devised. Thus far I have produced a gif file 64 pixels wide
by 32 pixels high showing a comet circumflex, without a keycap, followed by
an envelope, so that that can have the meaning of "We are willing to accept
emails in comet circumflex code, please click here to send one." It is a
cyan comet and a cyan envelope on a blue background, with a green circumflex
accent over the comet. The web page itself displays in the font Songs about
Landscape which is available for free download from the following web page.
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~ngo/founts1.htm
The reason for using that font is that the page will look as being in an
unknown language in an unknown script to all users of the simulation. The
text is just saying it is a simulation if read in English, so the Songs
about Landscape font needs to be installed locally in order to get the
proper effect of the simulation.
The simulated web-based shop has as its product (which, in fact, is given
away in the simulation) gif files representing pieces for a board game, so
hopefully the simulation will have a practical use in being a source of
those gif files. Each gif file has a part number. It is quite fascinating
to get immersed in the simulation. Hopefully it can go live on the web when
I can get it finished, then I can respond in comet circumflex language to
any emails in comet circumflex language which arrive from within the
simulation. The use of the Songs about Landscape font is remarkably
effective in producing a web site for the purpose of the simulation, as
headings and paragraphs can be set out.
William Overington
30 October 2002
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