Me too. The pain of learning a few thousand new words will seem like a shot of morphine compared to learning a few(but not as many) thousand words while simultaneously dismembering all the words you have hardwired for the last decade. I've previously stated on these pages that it is crazy to expect the OSWers to do this. It's equally crazy to expect everyone to do it. Look at all the havoc DA wreaked; now multiply by 1000+.

JG

On Thu, 29 Oct 1998, Steve Oliger wrote:

 Joel Sherman wrote: 
 
     ....My vision of SOWPODS is one that includes many
     words currently found in only one of OSW or OWL, but also eliminates
     quite a few from both sources as well....
 
     ...When I advocate converting to SOWPODS on cgp, please 
     bear in mind that "cleaned" SOWPODS is the type of SOWPODS I am really 
     advocating.  Unfortunately, it appears somewhat unlikely that either the 
     OSW powers or the OWL powers separately will begin work on the needed 
     cleanups, therefore, what I have to suggest is that we start by getting 
     everybody on the same page first, that is, all countries adopt the 
     current SOWPODS ASAP...

 Ack! First David Stone suggests a purge, and now Joel Sherman! Dan Pratt
 must be clicking his heels!!!  Joel, rank and file scrabblers do not have
 your "alacrity." Our ugly experiences with DA are indicative of what 
 happens when dictionary purists pull the rug out from under us. We want
 stability, not purity! Your suggestion of a SOWLOW purge beginning just
 after we adopt that list may be comforting to lexicographical purists,
 but I certainly don't savor the prospect of learning thousands of new
 words only to unlearn many of them over the next decade or so! 

 Steve Oliger

Last Modified 9/25/00

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