(This message was sent to Martin Schulze <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> and the -devel list. I screwed up the copy to -user.)
> Too Many Acronyms? The Debian mailing lists are rife with Linux gurus > and newbies alike. When a newbie wanders into a discussion the acronym > and jargon ratio is usually more than they can bear. Mark Bucciarelli > [9]brought this up on the Debian Java list, but it's a problem on > other lists as well. Even competent computer users get confused > because many acronyms are Debian-specific. (Like NMU, ITP, BTS, > etc...) Naturally a technical community like the Debian crowd isn't > going to stop using jargon and acronyms -- nor should they, they're > more efficient and that's why they're used in the first place. Perhaps > it's time for a Debian Glossary project, though? I (Zonker) am > throwing the idea out there to see if people are interested. If so, > I'll set up an alias for folks willing to work on such a project. I > (Joey) am already maintaining such a [10]list, contributions are > welcome, of course. Joey Hess began compiling a Debian Dictionary several years ago, and I offered to package it formatted for the Dict protocol. After discussion, he and I decided it was too small to warrant a separate package, and would be best combined with the FOLDOC (Free On-line Dictionary of Computing). I have submitted many Debian-specific terms and acronyms to the editor of the FOLDOC, and Debian-specific acronyms to the editor of V.E.R.A. Most of these have been incorporated in the upstream packages, and I include the others in the debian packages pending their incorporation upstream. Most of these Debian-specific terms and definitions have been submitted to me by Debian users and developers, and I am always happy to receive more. For the benefit of those new to Debian: apt-get install dict dictd - provides the infrastructure to access these dictionaries. apt-get install dict-foldoc dict-vera dict-jargon - provides computer related dictionaries that include many Debian-specific terms as well as general computer-related terms. apt-cache show dictd - The package description lists the other dictionaries packaged for Debian. Bob -- _ |_) _ |_ Robert D. Hilliard <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> |_) (_) |_) 1294 S.W. Seagull Way <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Palm City, FL USA GPG Key ID: 390D6559 PGP Key ID: A8E40EB9