Sharing. You can
share your Wordcorr data and analyses with your colleagues. You
share by
- exporting the current state of
your collection using Export XML (which you do for backup
anyway) or Export View XML (with only the current and Original
views in it),
- emailing the file (which is
compressed automatically) to your colleague, who does Import
XML,
- waiting to see what new ideas
come back to you.
Names. There's a problem
with sharing data this way. If your collection has the same name as
your friend's, somebody will probably get confused. How many
Austronesianists do you suppose have an collection called
Austronesian?
The solution for now is to prefix
your initials (capital letters, no punctuation or space) and a
hyphen to the short name of the collection in Wordcorr, and to the
output file when you export it (like "JG-Mind5"). The
short identifier helps avoid mixups. If two of you that are
exchanging files have the same initials, figure out a compromise
before you export.
We're still working on a way to
get your metadata into the Open Language Archives Community (OLAC)
automatically so that other people can search the OLAC repository
to see if any of the speech varieties you're working on are of
interest to them. When we get the system set up for you to register
as a Wordcorr user, it will automatically check the initials you
use against the list of registered Wordcorr users. And if
somebody has beaten you to it, you'll have a chance to change the
short identifier you use. |
When we began to design Wordcorr, we were
thinking about inviting people to store all their data in a
humongous common Web site. But that doesn't work for linguists in a
field situation where there are no Internet connections.
We also saw how easy it would be
to get collections mixed up. So we started looking at the file
exchange model of data sharing that Napster pioneered. It fits a
lot better than a centralized model.
With a centralized model, we'd
need a staff to keep the center going. This way you, the user, are
the one who keeps it going by exchanging data and analyses with
your colleagues. That's safer and will stay in use longer. |
