Development of Dictionaries
What happens to all additions I make to my spell-check dictionaries? When I move to another PC or install Thunderbird or Firefox on another device, I have to train my dictionary again. Is there any system to add new words to dictionary for all users? In the way, that You ask my permission if I want to send crash reports, You could ask also my permission to send additions to the dictionary automatically.
All Replies (5)
That helps me a step further, individually.
But it does nothing for the development of the dictionary plugin. It is not growing the dictionary in general, only on my PC.
I think, there should be functionality to send new words for integration into the general dictionary, so that all mozilla users can make use of it after updating their dictionary.
Do you not transfer your profile when installing Thunderbird onto a new computer? This would preserve your personal dictionary.
Before Windows for Networks, I was using Wordstar 2000 in a networked environment and that had a shared dictionary. I was constantly having to remove misspelled words that others had added to it. Such ability to add words on a whim, without any triage or vetting made the dictionary useless and dangerous.
My main gripe with the personal dictionary is that Thunderbird won't use it to make suggestions.
With care, you can edit the official dictionary file. I have only done this in connection with removing valid but vulgar words, and I am sure you could also add to it. I haven't made any progress in deciphering the codes which presumably classify the word and therefore describe how it can be inflected.
I thought, it would be self-understood, that the contributions to the "official" dictionary will have to be reviewed by a competent person or team. An automated direct and unfiltered injection would cause pure chaos and destroy any utility value of the dictionary.
I understand, that in a company environment one cold have the naive idea that the contributing people would be professionals and therefore it would be OK. But only because a person may be a reasonable engineer, he or she would not necessarily be any good in even the mother tongue they are using.
Regarding vulgar words I have to remind You, that they are part of the language and therefore should be part of the dictionary as well, in proper spelling and declination. To remove any words on the base of linking or disliking is censoring. The persons editing the "official" dictionary file will have to understand the elementary difference between an "official" statement in form of a text with meaning on the one side and a database of words for spellchecking on the other side. The purpose of the database is not to curtail the expression of the users, it is to improve the correctness of the spelling of the expression. Any influence on content or form of expression is beyond the scope of the dictionary. We do not want any conditions like in Nineteen Eighty-Four. Always remember https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Rule !
Language is like an age old living entity that constantly transforms and grows. The adding of new words is therefore to be expected. And when it is to be expected, than there should be a process to reflect this expectation.
My German persdict.dat for thunderbird has 1.440 entries. Now thunderbird has about 10 million users. That makes 1.440.000.000 times a user has to add a word to the personal dictionary, because the new words do not end up in the "official" file.
Anybody else who sees a problem in productivity here?
Please mind the title I had given:
Development of Dictionaries
It was not "how do I get my old persdict.dat back?" It is not a personal matter. It is a general question regarding the development of the dictionaries used by the mozilla project which - afaik - is the base of the spell checking of OpenOffice as well.