1.1 --- a/preface.roff	Thu Jun 21 08:58:56 2012 +0200
     1.2 +++ b/preface.roff	Sat Jun 23 22:08:17 2012 +0200
     1.3 @@ -15,22 +15,20 @@
     1.4  that took several months.
     1.5  Once having nmh arranged to a convenient state, I enjoyed using it
     1.6  because of its conceptional elegance and its scripting capabilities.
     1.7 -Nevertheless, it still was inconvenient for handling attachments,
     1.8 +Nevertheless, it was still inconvenient for handling attachments,
     1.9  non-ASCII character encodings, and similar features of modern emailing.
    1.10  My setup demanded more and more additional configuration and helper scripts
    1.11  to have nmh behave the way I wanted; yet my
    1.12  expectations were rather common for modern emailing.
    1.13 -In being a computer scientist and programmer,
    1.14 -I wanted to improve the situation.
    1.15 +As a computer scientist and programmer, I wanted to improve the situation.
    1.16  .P
    1.17 -In Spring 2010, I asked on the \fInmh-workers\fP mailing list for the
    1.18 -possibility to offer a Google Summer of Code project for me.
    1.19 -Participating in the development of nmh this way appeared attractive to me,
    1.20 -because I would have been able to work full time on nmh.
    1.21 -Although the nmh community had been generally positive on the suggestion,
    1.22 -the administrative work for a GSoC project had been to much to have
    1.23 -it realized.
    1.24 -Nontheless, my proposal had activated the nmh community.
    1.25 +In Spring 2010, I sent a message to the \fInmh-workers\fP mailing list,
    1.26 +asking for the possibility to offer a Google Summer of Code project for me.
    1.27 +Participating in the development of nmh in this manner appeared attractive
    1.28 +to me, because I would have been able to work full time on nmh.
    1.29 +Although the nmh community had reacted generally positive to the suggestion,
    1.30 +the administrative work for a GSoC project would had been too much.
    1.31 +Nonetheless, my proposal had activated the nmh community.
    1.32  In the following weeks, goals for nmh's future were discussed.
    1.33  In these discussions, I became involved in the
    1.34  question whether nmh should include mail transfer facilities.
    1.35 @@ -49,11 +47,11 @@
    1.36  During my time in Argentina, I wanted to work on Free Software.
    1.37  This brought me back to nmh.
    1.38  Richard Sandelman, an active nmh user, cared for the official basis.
    1.39 -Juan Granda, an argentine Free Software developer,
    1.40 +Juan Granda, an Argentine Free Software developer,
    1.41  provided a computer with Internet connection.
    1.42  Thanks to them, I was able to work on nmh during my three-month
    1.43  stay in Santiago del Estero, Argentina.
    1.44 -Quickly it became obvious that I wouldn't succeed with my main goal,
    1.45 +Quickly it became obvious that I would not succeed with my main goal,
    1.46  to improve the character encoding handling.
    1.47  (One of its ramifications is the
    1.48  missing transfer decoding of quoted text in replies.)
    1.49 @@ -66,7 +64,7 @@
    1.50  I had to discover that the community was reluctant to change.
    1.51  Its wish for compatibility was much stronger than its
    1.52  wish for convenient out-of-the-box setups \(en in contrast to my opinion.
    1.53 -This led to long discussions, again.
    1.54 +This, once again, led to long discussions.
    1.55  I came to understand their point of view, but it was different to mine.
    1.56  At the end of my three-month project, I had become familiar with
    1.57  nmh's code base and community,
    1.58 @@ -75,9 +73,9 @@
    1.59  .P
    1.60  Another half year later, the end of my studies came within reach.
    1.61  I needed a topic for my master's thesis.
    1.62 -No question, I wanted to work on nmh.
    1.63 -But well, not exactly on nmh, because I had accepted that the
    1.64 -nmh community has different goals than I have.
    1.65 +Without question, I wanted to work on nmh.
    1.66 +But not exactly on nmh, because I had accepted that its
    1.67 +community has different goals than I have.
    1.68  Working on nmh would result in much discussion and, in consequence,
    1.69  little progress.
    1.70  After careful thought, I decided to start an experimental version of nmh.
    1.71 @@ -94,14 +92,14 @@
    1.72  It discusses technical, historical, social and philosophical considerations.
    1.73  On the technical side, this document
    1.74  explains how an existing project was stream-lined by removing rough edges
    1.75 -and exploiting the central concepts better.
    1.76 -On the historical
    1.77 -side, changes through time in the use cases and the email features,
    1.78 -as well as the reactions to them, are discussed.
    1.79 +and better exploitation of the central concepts.
    1.80 +On the historical side, changes through time are discussed,
    1.81 +regarding the use cases and the email features,
    1.82 +as well as the reactions to them.
    1.83  Socially, this document describes the effects
    1.84  and experiences of a newcomer with revolutionary aims entering an old
    1.85  and matured software project.
    1.86 -Philosophical thoughts on style, mainly based to the Unix
    1.87 +Philosophical thoughts on style, mainly based on the Unix
    1.88  philosophy, are present throughout the discussions.
    1.89  The document describes the changes to nmh,
    1.90  but as well, it clarifies my personal perception of the
    1.91 @@ -109,11 +107,11 @@
    1.92  .P
    1.93  This document is written for the community around MH-like mail systems,
    1.94  including developers and users.
    1.95 -Despite the focus on MH-like systems, this document is may be precious
    1.96 -to anyone interested in the Unix philosophy and anyone in contact to
    1.97 -old software projects, be it code or community-related.
    1.98 +Despite the focus on MH-like systems, this document may be valuable
    1.99 +to anyone interested in the Unix philosophy and anyone in contact with
   1.100 +old software projects, be it code- or community-related.
   1.101  .P
   1.102 -The reader is expected to be well familiar with Unix, C and emailing.
   1.103 +The reader is expected to be familiar with Unix, C and emailing.
   1.104  Good Unix shell knowledge is required, because MH relies fundamentally
   1.105  on the shell. Without the power of the shell, MH becomes a motorbike
   1.106  without winding roads: boring.
   1.107 @@ -133,21 +131,21 @@
   1.108  .[
   1.109  kernighan ritchie c prog lang
   1.110  .]
   1.111 -Some book about system-level C programming can be helpful
   1.112 -additional literature. Rochkind and Curry have written such books.
   1.113 +A book about system-level C programming can be helpful
   1.114 +additional literature, such as those written by Rochkind and Curry.
   1.115  .[
   1.116  rochkind advanced unix prog
   1.117  .]
   1.118  .[
   1.119  curry system prog
   1.120  .]
   1.121 -As large parts of the source code are old,
   1.122 -old books are likely more helpful for understanding.
   1.123 +Old books are likely more helpful for understanding,
   1.124 +because large parts of the source code are old.
   1.125  The reader is expected to know the format of email messages and
   1.126  the structure of email transfer systems, at least on a basic level.
   1.127  It's advisable to have cross-read the RFCs 821 and 822.
   1.128  Further more, basic understanding of MIME is good to have.
   1.129 -The Wikipedia provides good introduction-level information to email.
   1.130 +The Wikipedia provides good introduction-level information about email.
   1.131  .P
   1.132  Frequent references to the Unix philosophy will be made.
   1.133  Gancarz has tried to sum it up in his book