1.1 --- a/preface.roff	Tue Jun 12 09:37:01 2012 +0200
     1.2 +++ b/preface.roff	Tue Jun 12 18:04:55 2012 +0200
     1.3 @@ -1,25 +1,24 @@
     1.4  .H0 "Preface" no
     1.5  
     1.6  .P
     1.7 -I have discovered the mail client \fInmh\fP in September 2009.
     1.8 -At that time I used to use \fImutt\fP, as many advanced Unix users do.
     1.9 -When I read about nmh, its concepts had convinced me at once.
    1.10 -The transition from mutt to nmh was similar to
    1.11 -managing files in the Unix shell when being used to the
    1.12 +I have discovered the mail client \fInmh\fP in Fall 2009.
    1.13 +At that time I used \fImutt\fP, as many advanced Unix users do.
    1.14 +When I read about nmh, its concepts convinced me at once.
    1.15 +The transition from mutt to nmh was similar to beginning with
    1.16 +file management in the Unix shell when being used to the
    1.17  \fImidnight commander\fP,
    1.18 -or like editing with vi when being used to modeless editors.
    1.19 -Such a change is not trivial, but in being convinced by the
    1.20 +or like starting with vi when being used to modeless editors.
    1.21 +Such a change is not trivial, but, in being convinced by the
    1.22  concepts and by having done similar transitions for file management
    1.23  and editing already, it was not too difficult.
    1.24  In contrast, setting up nmh to a convenient state became a tedious task
    1.25  that took several months.
    1.26  Once having nmh arranged to a convenient state, I enjoyed using it
    1.27  because of its conceptional elegance and its scripting capabilities.
    1.28 -On the other hand, nevertheless, it still was
    1.29 -inconvenient for handling attachments, non-ASCII character encodings,
    1.30 -and similar features of modern emailing.
    1.31 +Nevertheless, it still was inconvenient for handling attachments,
    1.32 +non-ASCII character encodings, and similar features of modern emailing.
    1.33  My setup demanded more and more additional configuration and helper scripts
    1.34 -to get nmh behave the way I wanted, although my
    1.35 +to have nmh behave the way I wanted; yet my
    1.36  expectations were rather common for modern emailing.
    1.37  In being a computer scientist and programmer,
    1.38  I wanted to improve the situation.
    1.39 @@ -27,8 +26,7 @@
    1.40  In Spring 2010, I asked on the \fInmh-workers\fP mailing list for the
    1.41  possibility to offer a Google Summer of Code project for me.
    1.42  Participating in the development of nmh this way appeared attractive to me,
    1.43 -because I would have been able to work full time on nmh as the project
    1.44 -could have been part of my official studies at university.
    1.45 +because I would have been able to work full time on nmh.
    1.46  Although the nmh community had been generally positive on the suggestion,
    1.47  the administrative work for a GSoC project had been to much to have
    1.48  it realized.
    1.49 @@ -39,29 +37,30 @@
    1.50  .[
    1.51  nmh-workers thread mta mua
    1.52  .]
    1.53 -In this central point, my opinion differed from the opinion of most others.
    1.54 -I argued for the MTA facility of nmh to be removed.
    1.55 -Besides the discussions, hardly any real work was done.
    1.56 -Being unable to work on nmh in a way that would be
    1.57 -accepted as part of my official studies, I needed to choose another project.
    1.58 +I argued for the MTA of nmh to be removed.
    1.59 +In this fundamental question,
    1.60 +my opinion differed from the opinion of most others.
    1.61 +Sadly, besides the discussions, hardly any real work was done.
    1.62 +Being unable to work on nmh in a way that would be accepted at university
    1.63 +as part of my studies, I needed to choose another project.
    1.64  .P
    1.65  Half a year later, starting in August 2010,
    1.66  I took one semester off to travel through Latin America.
    1.67 -During my time in Argentina, I planned to work on Free Software.
    1.68 +During my time in Argentina, I wanted to work on Free Software.
    1.69  This brought me back to nmh.
    1.70  Richard Sandelman, an active nmh user, cared for the official basis.
    1.71  Juan Granda, an argentine Free Software developer,
    1.72 -provided a computer with Internet connection for my work.
    1.73 +provided a computer with Internet connection.
    1.74  Thanks to them, I was able to work on nmh during my three-month
    1.75 -stay in Santiago del Estero in Argentina.
    1.76 -Quickly it became obvious that I wouldn't succeed with my main goal:
    1.77 -improving the character encoding handling within the project.
    1.78 -One of its ramifications is the
    1.79 -missing transfer decoding of quoted text in replies.
    1.80 +stay in Santiago del Estero, Argentina.
    1.81 +Quickly it became obvious that I wouldn't succeed with my main goal,
    1.82 +to improve the character encoding handling.
    1.83 +(One of its ramifications is the
    1.84 +missing transfer decoding of quoted text in replies.)
    1.85  As this is one of the most intricate parts of the system, the goal
    1.86  was simply set too high.
    1.87  Instead, I improved the code base as I read through it.
    1.88 -I found minor bugs for which I proposed fixes to the community.
    1.89 +I found minor bugs for which I proposed fixes.
    1.90  In the same go, I improved the documentation in minor ways.
    1.91  When I started with larger code changes,
    1.92  I had to discover that the community was reluctant to change.
    1.93 @@ -70,16 +69,17 @@
    1.94  This led to long discussions, again.
    1.95  I came to understand their point of view, but it was different to mine.
    1.96  At the end of my three-month project, I had become familiar with
    1.97 -nmh's code base and community.
    1.98 +nmh's code base and community,
    1.99  I had improved the project in minor ways,
   1.100 -and I still was convinced that I wanted to go on to do so.
   1.101 +and I still was convinced that I wanted to continue to do so.
   1.102  .P
   1.103  Another half year later, the end of my studies came within reach.
   1.104  I needed a topic for my master's thesis.
   1.105  No question, I wanted to work on nmh.
   1.106  But well, not exactly on nmh, because I had accepted that the
   1.107  nmh community has different goals than I have.
   1.108 -This would result in much discussion and thus little progress.
   1.109 +Working on nmh would result in much discussion and, in consequence,
   1.110 +little progress.
   1.111  After careful thought, I decided to start an experimental version of nmh.
   1.112  I wanted to implement my own ideas of how an MH-like system should look like.
   1.113  I wanted to create a usable alternative version to be compared with