[Sw-l] Steve's 2018 mid-year report for Sutton SignWriting

[Stephen Slevinski]

Hi SignWriting List,

The state of Sutton SignWriting is strong.  We have an established 
International user base and we have the standards of 2010, 2012, and 
2017 to build upon.  SignWriting is thriving and SignWriting is free.

I would love to hear about any projects around the world, or even a 
status update from any of our teachers or groups.  If you have something 
really great to report, consider adding to the SignWriting Symposium 
with a set of files that can include any of the following: video, 
powerpoint, PDF, or anything else.

This year, I'm going to have two additions to the SignWriting Symposium 
2018: "For the Future of Sutton SignWriting" and "The SignPuddle 3 User 
Experience".

The first presentation is available online: 
https://www.slideshare.net/StephenSlevinski/for-the-future-of-sutton-signwriting-101403924

The second presentation is a work in progress and will be available 
later this year.


My current focus is SignPuddle 3: a long term project.  I have an old 
beta release of SignPuddle 3, but changing standards and designs have 
caused delays.  I'm happy to report that the standards are set.   If you 
would like to sign on your agreement with the standards of 2010, 2012, 
or 2017, let me know through email, facebook, the SignWriting List, or 
Patreon.  If you are a member of a school, university, or group, your 
support is particularly important.


With the standards set, the next issue is the design.  This has also 
changed over the years, at every level.  I've been trying to think at a 
higher level, and I found the CUBI UX model: Content, User Goals, 
Business Goals, and Interactions for User Experience.



While SignPuddle 2 was reactive and possible, the user experience was 
secondary.  In 2004, I started with a two-dimensional understanding of 
SignWriting and started to create data.  Over the years, I've kept the 
data current through changes in symbol set and data encoding.  
SignPuddle 2 still has deep legacy code with early formats.

For SignPuddle 3, I still need to maintain the existing data, but I also 
need to straighten out the content.  In general, SignPuddle 3 will offer 
several types of collections: interface, dictionary, literature, 
fingerspell, and alphabet.

* Interface - used for front end translation into various languages.
* Dictionary - used for standardized spelling, PDF printing, and 
software integration.
* Literature - used for collecting segments of text and ordering them 
into a unit for editing, printing, and publishing.
* Fingerspell - used for converting spoken text into a fingerspelling 
with SignWriting.
* Alphabet - used for the symbol palette and keyboard organization.

For the user goals and interactions, I'm hoping that people will want to 
use the content in SignPuddle 3 to accomplish something, while at the 
same time improving the content. I can imagine some of the goals, but 
not all of the possibilities.  If you have any stories to tell about 
your goals and ideal workflows, please share.

For the business goals, I have a hard deadline of January 2019 to find 
additional funding.  While I learned a lot from the grant process, my 
time is better spent finishing the new software.  Rather than raise 
money through advertising or a paywall, I've decided to open a Patreon 
account.  If you find my work useful and want it to continue, consider 
becoming a patron with a small monthly donation as small as $1 a month.  
I understand this isn't possible for everyone, but if enough people 
support my work, I can continue and expand my efforts.
Become a Patron <https://www.patreon.com/signwriting>
https://patreon.com/signwriting

Over the next few months, I will be publishing parts of SignPuddle 3 as 
it is ready.  I'm particularly excited about the integrated dictionary 
and improved text editor.  New development will continue for 2018.

Regards,
-Steve
https://SteveSlevinski.me

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sutton at signwriting.org

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