Erik B. Pedersen wrote:
One possible problem which this procedure does not address, I think, is what in a database is sometimes called the updating anomaly. Suppose Jörg Vetenskaper and Frederik Pedant both happen to download the same text for OCR conversion, and therefore duplicate the work. It may seem unlikely, but if unnecessary duplication of effort can be avoided, it would be best to do so.
You're right. One way to avoid this could be:
1. Register a user identity and log in. (To be implemented.) 2. Sign up for OCRing a work. Your user ID and the date-time is recorded as a volunteer for OCR of this work. 3. If you haven't uploaded the results within 7 days, a reminder e-mail is sent to you and after 14 days, your name is removed so another user can volunteer for OCRing of the same work.
This could of course be a generic mechanism for any kind of work that takes longer than proofreading a single page.
Right now this stops at point 1, which someone (Erik? Hans?) has to implement. We have been talking about this among ourselves for ages already. (A bad sign: I've bought this book on "Procrastination", but I haven't found time to read it yet.)
Best regards to the directors and to all the wonderful volunteers with Project Runeberg.
Thank you!