Translations

From Motion Mountain Wiki

Rules and advice

• Translations are a lot of work! Before you think about starting, think carefully whether you have the time and energy for it. It is best to get in touch with me beforehand.

• In addition, I agree to translations only under these conditions:

1. All rights to the translated text belong to Christoph Schiller. No rights remain with the translator. In particular, no money can be made by the translator with the translated text.
2. Step 1, typing the translated text. The translation is typed in an ascii file that is ready for Latex, so that the translation can be maintained. Tex/Latex is a typesetting system, probably the best one existing; it uses ascii text as input. It is not a WYSIWYG system; typing and typesetting are two different steps. Typing the translation is done with a good text editor, such as (on PCs) Ultraedit, Emacs, Alpha, (or, on Unix) Emacs (or, on Macs) Aquamacs, Alpha or any other editor with a Tex/Latex mode. You do not need to be able to typeset the text. Step 2, typesetting the text, can be done elsewhere. If you do not know Tex/Latex, just read about it for 30 minutes; it is worth it and will help you to understand the structure of the ascii files you are translating and typing.
3. The translated files (ascii and eps or pdf, if any) are sent to me, so that I can put everything on the Motion Mountain web site or in my archive.
4. You are welcome to put copies of the translated pdf on your own site, but not of the ascii or eps or other files. All non-pdf files are not to be distributed.
5. Step 2, the typesetting, is the work required to produce the final pdf. The translated ascii text will be typeset (like the English original) with the free MinionPro Latex package, and one of the two available MinionPro math fonts, either the free one from CTAN or the commercial one. I can do the typesetting for any language I can decipher; but for other languages, finding help might be necessary. At present, I also use the *commercial* MinionPro *math* fonts of Johannes Kuester at http://www.typoma.de/en/fonts.html. But this is not a requirement; the free MinionPro package is already excellent for mathematics. Do not try to typeset the book if you cannot handle Latex, MinionPro and the math fonts. This is difficult - only a few people world-wide managed so far - though easier installation routines might make it easier in the future.
6. Before I put a translation on the internet, I will ask a professional editor to correct it.

• The reason for these strict conditions is that I want to keep the text free for all and of high quality at the same time.