Re: Plain Text Files Preferred

["artgrtr8u" <artgrtr8u@yahoo.com>]

The simpler the format the easier it would be to come up with some
automated indexing and toc generating scripts.

As for numbering, I favor a simple #.#.# format.  Such as:
S.R.s.p
S = section number  (e.g. 5 for Magic)
R = rule number      (e.g.  12 for College of E&E)
s = sub-rule number  (e.g.  4 for general knowledge spells)
p = paragraph number (e.g.  1 for Spell of Charming  -  this may be
overkill, but some rules may have a complexity that goes this deep)

so the Ensorcelments and Enchantments Spell of Charming would be rule
5.12.4.1

this would be easy for people to reference and easy to index by.  But
I'm also a bit biased, since I come from a software background and I'm
used to seeing numbering schemes like this (like software version
numbers).  Frankly I could go along with anything.

I am assuming the rule numbers would start over at 1 for each section,
instead of having the rule numbers independent of the section numbers
as they are in the 2nd ed.

SMJ

--- In dq-rules@yahoogroups.com, rthorm@c... wrote:
> I'm not sure what benefit we would get from RTF.  These are game
rules, so there
> are not many things that need to be bold or italic.  There may be some
> standards for using bold, eg the first sentence in each rule
paragraph is in
> bold in 2nd Ed rules.  But that can probably be handled when it
comes time to
> create finished, formatted pages for printing or electronic display.  
> 
> If we use RTF, then it adds the complexity of making sure it is
properly used,
> and a whole additional set of formatting standards need to be
followed and
> enforced.  I'd rather not have to worry about those factors, and just
> concentrate on the content.
> 
> I'm not against the use of other formats.  But the base standard for
writing and
> archiving the rules should be the cleanest and simplest.  And it
should be
> relatively simple to take the plain text and plug it in to your favorite
> program and enhance it with RTF benefits.
> 
>   --Rodger
> 
> 
> 
> Quoting "J. K. Hoffman" <ryumaou@s...>:
> 
> > If a professional geek might chime in here...
> > 
> > Can I suggest a middle-ground?  How about RTF?  Rich-
> > Text Format is like txt on steroids.  It would allow 
> > for things like bold and italic, as well as pictures, 
> > but it's a fairly universal standard.  To the best of 
> > my knowlege, there are a multitude of programs on 
> > *every* platform that will read RTF, not just PC and 
> > Mac, but Linux, too.
> > MS Word will read and write RTF, as will OpenOffice 
> > and Star Office, which are available for multiple 
> > platforms.
> > 
> > And, just side note, I'm not really interested in 
> > contributing to the rules themselves, per se, since 
> > I'm not actively gaming, but I would be happy to be a 
> > technical advisor/grunt for formats and conversions, 
> > etc.
> > 
> > Thanks,
> > Jim
> 
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