Comments on: Bill Converted to Images so YOU can’t read it http://mpwilson.com/2009/02/13/bill-converted-to-images-so-you-cant-read-it/ Mon, 21 May 2012 20:36:59 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Light & Dark http://mpwilson.com/2009/02/13/bill-converted-to-images-so-you-cant-read-it/#comment-2421 Light & Dark Tue, 17 Feb 2009 06:59:59 +0000 http://mpwilson.com/?p=3646#comment-2421 I had a quick look at the .gov page and had no trouble downloading a 650 page pdf that was regular text as expected - maybe I wasn't looking at the same thing you were talking about though. And no surprise that a full text dissection effort is already in full swing :) P I had a quick look at the .gov page and had no trouble downloading a 650 page pdf that was regular text as expected - maybe I wasn’t looking at the same thing you were talking about though.

And no surprise that a full text dissection effort is already in full swing :)

P

]]> By: MikeWilson http://mpwilson.com/2009/02/13/bill-converted-to-images-so-you-cant-read-it/#comment-2419 MikeWilson Mon, 16 Feb 2009 21:18:38 +0000 http://mpwilson.com/?p=3646#comment-2419 Well I think it's regrettably unknowable. I tried D/Ling it but gave up. PDFs don't bother me in the least. It's a decent (if cumbersome) standard "formal" document format. There's now a wiki with the full text and dissection efforts going on. Well I think it’s regrettably unknowable. I tried D/Ling it but gave up.

PDFs don’t bother me in the least. It’s a decent (if cumbersome) standard “formal” document format.

There’s now a wiki with the full text and dissection efforts going on.

]]> By: Light & Dark http://mpwilson.com/2009/02/13/bill-converted-to-images-so-you-cant-read-it/#comment-2418 Light & Dark Mon, 16 Feb 2009 21:06:13 +0000 http://mpwilson.com/?p=3646#comment-2418 This is paraphrased, but "don't ascribe to malice what can adequately be explained by ineptitude". I'm betting somebody who didn't really know what they were doing converted the doc to pdf. I'd say the decision to distribute as PDF was actually the right one (though obviously not as images.) The statement that it should have been published as "a regular internet document" is actually pretty dumb too. PDF <i>is</i> "a regular internet document". If what they mean is it should have been published as web pages as well as in a downloadable format, OK, but can you imagine the general Internet user trying to save all those web pages for offline reading, or trying to print it? And don't even get me started if what they meant was it should be published as a Word doc. It's entirely possible they felt they didn't have time to prepare all the individual web pages (and heaven forbid they tried to publish it as all one page!) in time for initial release. (And hours to prepare it as a PDF? Gimme a break.) Best answer in my opinion would have been a properly tagged and bookmarked PDF as soon as it was ready, then a properly laid out, standards-compliant series of web pages as soon after as possible. Embarrassing that they didn't have the technical services available to do that for such an important document. If they anybody really thought that publishing as images was going to keep it from being available in searchable format for more than a couple of hours, they really are incompetent (as you point out Mike, with how an hour or so's work in OCR would resolve that situation.) I guess the real question in my mind is: did they get any benefit from releasing it, but in a format that wouldn't be searchable for a couple of hours? i.e. did the delay serve a tactical purpose? This is paraphrased, but “don’t ascribe to malice what can adequately be explained by ineptitude”. I’m betting somebody who didn’t really know what they were doing converted the doc to pdf.

I’d say the decision to distribute as PDF was actually the right one (though obviously not as images.) The statement that it should have been published as “a regular internet document” is actually pretty dumb too. PDF is “a regular internet document”. If what they mean is it should have been published as web pages as well as in a downloadable format, OK, but can you imagine the general Internet user trying to save all those web pages for offline reading, or trying to print it? And don’t even get me started if what they meant was it should be published as a Word doc.

It’s entirely possible they felt they didn’t have time to prepare all the individual web pages (and heaven forbid they tried to publish it as all one page!) in time for initial release. (And hours to prepare it as a PDF? Gimme a break.)

Best answer in my opinion would have been a properly tagged and bookmarked PDF as soon as it was ready, then a properly laid out, standards-compliant series of web pages as soon after as possible. Embarrassing that they didn’t have the technical services available to do that for such an important document.

If they anybody really thought that publishing as images was going to keep it from being available in searchable format for more than a couple of hours, they really are incompetent (as you point out Mike, with how an hour or so’s work in OCR would resolve that situation.)

I guess the real question in my mind is: did they get any benefit from releasing it, but in a format that wouldn’t be searchable for a couple of hours? i.e. did the delay serve a tactical purpose?

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