Rudolf Steiner Archive Home Version 2.5.4
Help: Text Corrections

Help with Archive Text Corrections

In the past, many kind souls have offered to proofread, or editorially scan the documents presented at the Archive — some have even sent their corrections on to the e.Librarian. But, there really wasn't a good method for doing this: communicating what a user sees in their browser window is a difficult task when all browser windows are different in size.

The solution is to provide a uniform method of communicating just what needs to be changed, and make it easy to use. We hope we have accomplished this here. Should you notice an error or typo in one of the documents, you can notify us by clicking on the “Make Corrections” link at the top right of each document's page, and then following these four easy steps:

  1. In the new window that pops up, fill in your First Name, Last Name, and eMail Address in the top portion of the form — we just want to know where to send the thank you. The field should be filled in, but if it is blank, please “cut and paste” the correct URL from the browser window containing the document in question.

  2. The “Original” field needs to be filled in with the text you feel needs to be corrected. Using “cut and paste” — <CTRL-C> to cut, and <CTRL-V> to paste — insert the the questionable text in this field. Please copy the entire sentence or paragraph, not just one or two words. Try to make it easy for the e.Librarian to find your correction ... a one letter change in a very large paragraph is hard to spot (not to mention the squinty-eyed vision of the e.Librarian)!

  3. Now, just left-click in the “Correction” field, and the text you entered in the “Original” field will appear. Make the corrections you feel appropriate in this field. In some instances, it might do well to put arrows around the corrected text, as in --> and <-- making it easy to spot.

  4. Click the Send button! A page will pop up thanking you for your submission. If there are any errors in the form, you will be notified, and given an opportunity to correct the correction, so to speak. If the correction is unclear, the e.Librarian may ask for a clarification.

Some notes on the correction process: we strive to present Steiner's material in the same way it was presented in the original publication — typos and all. We may add a clarifying remark at points, but if your correction points to one of these instances, we may or may not add the clarification. We will, however, change any and all errors/typos we have made in bringing the document to the Web.

Another point to remember: there are quite a few German words, even in the English translations. Umlauts may run rampant in a particular text. Be sure you have the correct character set turned on for your browser.

And finally, please remember, no matter how many times you've looked at a piece of text, or how many people have read it, there will always be one (or more) errors that are missed. In fact, when reviewing correction submissions, we often find other things the submitter has missed!

With humble thanks,
— The e.Librarian