Editorial Policies

The Suda On Line is committed to producing an annotated translation of the 30,000 or so entries in the Suda. In pursuit of this goal we have developed some rather unusual editorial policies.

Instead of shielding translations from public view until they have been completely vetted, edited, revised, annotated and perfected, every submission to our database is instantly visible to anyone browsing or searching the SOL site. This means that you may come across Suda entries with serious errors. Some submissions are intended by their translators only as very rough drafts; some leave parts of entries untranslated, and sometimes the translators simply make mistakes.

This system of open revision does require of the reader a more critical approach to reading, but to help you make informed decisions about the material you find in SOL, we clearly label unedited material as draft entries. This is part of our system of marking editorial status which will be explained further below.

Why do we do things this way? Two reasons:

• Many entries, even in an unedited state, will provide useful information to some users, especially since we make the Greek text of the entry available for the user to consult alongside the translation and annotation. Moreover, an imperfect translation can still be supplemented in our system with useful annotation and hyperlinks. We don't want the sort of editing bottlenecks that develop in a more traditional editing-and-publishing paradigm to slow down the translation process and keep that information from reaching the user.
• Having the entries out there for everyone to see will help attract the attention of qualified scholars who can sign on to help improve the entries. And on that subject ...

What can you do to help? Two things:

• Register as a translator or editor. If you can recognize an error in a Suda entry, chances are you have the expertise necessary to make an important contribution to the SOL yourself. The registration process is quick and simple. If you are approved as an editor, you will be given the power to edit and annotate any entry in the database, so the next time you find an error in SOL you can simply fix it.
• If you don't want to register, you can still help by sending e-mail to the translator or, if the entry has already been edited, to the most recent editor. The names of the translators and all of the editors who have worked on an entry are listed at the end of each display, and the names are hyperlinked to their e-mail addresses, so all you have to do to send them notification of the error is to click on the names and type your message.

Currently, well over one hundred scholars worldwide are registered to help to translate and annotate the Suda On Line; we are always happy to have new contributors join the effort.

Marking Editorial Status:

The display of each entry includes an indication of the entry's editorial status. We currently have three different editorial levels:

1. draft: Every entry, when it is first submitted, is designated as a draft entry. Use such entries only with caution. They have not been substantially edited or proofread and may contain significant errors. Use the Greek text provided as a check on these entries' accuracy.


2. low: Once an editor has proofread an entry and checked it for major errors and omissions, he or she has the option of raising the status of the entry to low. Frequently the editors at this stage of the game are not specialists in the field(s) to which the entry specifically pertains, so caution in using these entries is still in order.


3. high: High-status entries are of two types: 1) entries that are so simple and straightforward that no improvement is necessary (often the case with one-word or two-word entries); 2) entries that have been vetted by at least one (and preferably more than one) editor who has special expertise in the areas to which the entries pertain. Ideally these entries will be amply annotated and hyperlinked, and should be considered extremely reliable.

Of course, even high-status entries will not be completely free from error, and every entry is capable of improvement in the form of additional annotation, additional links to other sources, additional bibliography, etc. The capacity for continual and open-ended improvement is another of the strengths of our system. If you think you could contribute to the ongoing improvement of our database, don't hesitate to register!

This document was last updated February 28, 2001