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pollution & the vulgate

Michael Bushnell writes:

> Absolutely.  I'm not an academic in the humanities.  But the attitude
> here that the only use of the Vulgate must be an academic one is in
> error.  There are many uses; the current CCAT distribution channel
> leaves out many non-academic uses.

How does it leave them out?  You're not being prevented from having the
text, you're just being asked to register.  I fail to see the evil in
this.

> So, I got my online
> Shakespeare and checked.  Lo and behold, the distinction is quite
> clear; out of the entire Shakespearean corpus there were three
> exceptions--two of which might have been metaphorical uses and not
> really exceptions at all.
> 
> This was useful research (albeit of small importance) that would not
> have been affected if the "complete works of shakespeare" I had turned
> out to omit Act IV of King Lear.  

Unless Act IV of King Lear held a dozen other exceptions.  Like it or
not, by doing such statistical work you are engaging in academic
humanities research.  If you can't trust your sample, your results are
suspect.  OK, so you have no intention of publishing your results, but
if someone else, in ignorance, did so, their career could be affected. 
And academics should not have to be saddled with "checksums."  If a text
is labelled "The Complete Works of Shakespeare" Act IV of King Lear
should be in there.

Remember the old computer adage, GIGO (garbage in, garbage out).

> Why the assumption that the only interest in the Vulgate is academic?

That's not my assumption.  My assupmtion is that if something is
labelled "Vulgate" then it should be the complete and accurate text
thereof, unless a warning is conspicuously posted to the contrary.  It's
sort of like smoking.  Smoke all you want, but your rights end where my
lungs begin, so don't pollute my air.  Similarly, use the Vulgate for
whatever you want, but don't pollute the net with inferior copies that
may affect other people's work.  Especially when a well-known and
accurate copy is easily available.

--
Sterling G. Bjorndahl, bjorndahl@Augustana.AB.CA or bjorndahl@camrose.uucp
Augustana University College, Camrose, Alberta, Canada      (403) 679-1516
  When dealing with computers, a little paranoia is usually appropriate.
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