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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Arthur Reutenauer wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:20181212154758.GA632411@phare.normalesup.org">
<pre wrap="">On Wed, Dec 12, 2018 at 02:05:57PM +0000, Philip Taylor wrote:
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap=""> I think that discussion here have been frank and open, but not always
couched in a way that reflects Microsoft in the most positive light. On
that basis, I would suggest that we do not refer Microsoft here
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap="">
You’re making such a good job of it! I did not think it possible
to mention a name *twice* in a paragraph requesting not to refer to it.
I’ll be using [name intentionally left blank] in the below.</pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
Arthur, your first language is not English, and you can therefore be
completely forgiven for not understanding "that we do not refer
Microsoft here". This means "that we do not refer Microsoft TO
here", not "that we do not refer TO Microsoft here" as I think you
erroneously believed <br>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:20181212154758.GA632411@phare.normalesup.org">
<pre wrap="">
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap=""> Draft letter; comments welcomed.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap="">
Thank you for your draft. It is terrible.</pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
Thank you for your comment. It is truly constructive. (This is
called "sarcasm" — please consult Norbert if you are unclear as to
what "sarcasm" means; I understand that he is an expert on the
subject).<br>
<br>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:20181212154758.GA632411@phare.normalesup.org">
<pre wrap="">
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap=""> Dear <whoever> —
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap="">
(As as side note, I think it would help if you could identify an
actual person within [name intentionally left blank], or at least a
role, because it has a strong bearing on parts of the contents.)</pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
Agreed, and I am waiting some feedback on this from Boris.<br>
<br>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:20181212154758.GA632411@phare.normalesup.org">
<pre wrap="">
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap=""> I write on behalf of the TeX Users' Group, and on behalf of (literally)
millions of TeX users worldwide.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap="">
Considering the tendency to overuse “literally” nowadays, I don’t
think it fits with the necessary tone for such a missive -- even if used
in a way that would be approved by purists -- and especially not in
parenthesis. Drop it.</pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
The fact that half the world is now seemingly illiterate is not
(IMVHO) a reason for not using a word correctly.<br>
<br>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:20181212154758.GA632411@phare.normalesup.org">
<pre wrap="">
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap=""> TeX is a typesetting system without
equal, created by Professor Donald E. Knuth in 1978 in order to allow
him to re-typeset The Art of Computer Programming to the same standards
as those achieved when the first edition was published using traditional
hot-lead technology.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap="">
That’s a nice introductory sentence, well done.</pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
Thank you.<br>
<br>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:20181212154758.GA632411@phare.normalesup.org">
<pre wrap="">
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap=""> Over the next four years Professor Knuth re-wrote
substantial parts of TeX and released TeX version 2, to be followed
about a decade later by version 3, the version almost universally used
today.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap="">
Nothing in that sentence is of any interest to anyone except the
(rather specialised) historian. Software have successive versions,
that’s a given, and we don’t need to prove that we can count up to
three.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
It is called "setting the scene" — a fairly normal literary device,
especially when one is writing to someone who may not be aware of
the history of TeX.<br>
<br>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:20181212154758.GA632411@phare.normalesup.org">
<pre wrap="">
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap=""> Almost since its inception, TeX has run on Microsoft platforms —
Eberhard Mattes wrote emTeX for MS/DOS, others developed versions for
Microsoft Windows, and until now there have been no significant
difficulties in supporting each new version of Windows as it was
released.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap="">
I don’t see the point of mentioning Eberhard Mattes, whose name is the
only one you use except for Don’s. If you’re going to be name-dropping,
I thought you could at least do it well, with for example Leslie
Lamport, who is after all a recipient of the Turing award. Then I
remembered that didn’t like LaTeX.</pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
I am referring to TeX implementors, not to the authors (no matter
how meritorious) of formats. Fabrice Popineau almost certainly
warrants a mention, but I felt that the first significant
contributor in the field was worthy of particular note.<br>
<br>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:20181212154758.GA632411@phare.normalesup.org">
<pre wrap="">
(I also think that “no significant difficulties in supporting each new
version of Windows” is a bit of a stretch, but let’s forget about that.)</pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
Were there "significant" difficulties, or just normal ones ?<br>
<br>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:20181212154758.GA632411@phare.normalesup.org">
<pre wrap="">
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap=""> But recently, an impasse has been reached, with the announcement of
Windows 10 "S-mode".</pre>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br>
[Long snip]<br>
<br>
Thank you for your detailed critique. I do not think that any
reader of this list would welcome a detailed debate on every point
made, so I am very happy to invite you to draft a second revision
and circulate <i>it</i> for comment.<br>
<br>
Philip Taylor<br>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
<img src="cid:part1.3860C92B.D666B4FB@Rhul.Ac.Uk"
alt="<Signature>"><br>
Philip Taylor</div>
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