THE WELCH COMPANY
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S U M M A R Y


DIARY: November 16, 2000 05:34 PM Thursday; Rod Welch

Eric and Adam comment on meaning for OHS and DKR.

1...Summary/Objective
.....Open HyperDocument Repository -- where they are kept
2...Definitions of OHS/DKR Terminology Based on Telecon with Doug
3...Hyperdocument:
4...Dynamic Knowledge Repository:
5...OHS:
.......Operating System...
6...HyperScope:


..............
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CONTACTS 
0201 - Armstrong Consulting                 650 845 1782
020101 - Mr. Eric Armstrong
020102 - eric.armstrong@eng.sun.com

SUBJECTS
OHS Repository Not Toolset
Toolset Eric Never Conceived OHS as Toolset
DKR Scope Unclear
Terminology Definitions Should be Consistent
Define Scope OHS, 001025
Define DKR
Relational, Logic, Mathematical, Reasoning
Accountability by Linking
Phase II OHS Full Features Extends Hyperscope Scope
OHS Define Scope, Meeting 001113
DKR Not Understood, Ontology + OHS = DKR
OHS Defined as "Repository" Same as OHR by Eric Armstrong

2214 -    ..
2215 - Summary/Objective
2216 -
221601 - Follow up ref SDS 26 0000, ref SDS 23 0000.
221602 -
221603 - Received ref DRT 1 0001 from Eric continuing the discussion with Adam
221604 - Cheyer from yesterday about the meaning of OHS and DKR.
221605 -
221606 - Eric says today that consistent terminology makes sense.  It's the
221607 - only tool we have to attack the problem with. ref DRT 1 TD5K
221608 -
221609 -     This aligns with objective to foster a culture of knowledge that
221610 -     links to original sources, as called out by Doug Engelbart on
221611 -     001025. ref SDS 20 00VU  Earlier today, Jack Park and Paul
221612 -     Fernhout reported that Welch technology accomplishes this
221613 -     objective. ref SDS 27 0001
221614 -
221615 -     Eric's letter, however, is unclear, because he omits references
221616 -     and links that provide context, despite his call for using
221617 -     consistent terminology, which inherently requires links to show
221618 -     consistency.
221619 -
221620 -        [On 001121 letter on history of OHS and DKR, weakness of
221621 -        relying on memory, and conversation, and proposal to use SDS so
221622 -        people can learn about KM by doing KM. ref SDS 29 ER5I
221623 -     ..
221624 -     Eric seems to continue the discussion from yesterday, when
221625 -     Adam recommended relying on the project record to define terms,
221626 -     specifically OHS and DKR, even though Adam, also, did not cite any
221627 -     documents either. ref SDS 26 L87F
221628 -
221629 -  ..
221630 - Today, Eric provides the following proposal for project terminology,
221631 - which seems sensible...
221632 -
221633 -     HyperScope -- the viewer, ref DRT 1 OJ5N
221634 -
221635 -        Seems to align with OHS Launch Plan on 001025, ref SDS 20 A5U6,
221636 -        however, Eric does not cite this source.
221637 -
221638 -     HyperDocument -- the thing viewed (a "slice" taken
221639 -     from a repository)
221640 -
221641 -  ..
221642 -
221643 -     Open HyperDocument Repository -- where they are kept
221644 -
221645 -        Why can't this be the DKR, instead of an OHR, what is the big
221646 -        deal?
221647 -
221648 -            [On 001121 letter to team showing history of OHS and DKR.
221649 -            ref SDS 29 ER5I
221650 -
221651 -        Eric reported on 000503 that "knowledge" is not a helpful term
221652 -        for him. ref SDS 11 5033  Hyperdocument on the other hand
221653 -        merely extends the idea of documents, which is familiar
221654 -        territory. Filing cabinets and computers are familiar
221655 -        repositories for documents.  Hypredocument repository makes
221656 -        sense, but why then not call it a Dynamic Document Repository
221657 -        (DDR) to convey the idea of constant growth?  It is not clear
221658 -        why "Open" fits with document repository, as Eric proposes
221659 -        today.
221660 -
221661 -        Doug seems to equate knowledge with documents, and so has no
221662 -        trouble calling it a DKR; or, possibly he has something beyond
221663 -        documents in mind, e.g., conversations, which Adam cites below,
221664 -        based on a telecon with Doug. ref SDS 0 JO3F  Eric might note
221665 -        that conversations in a repository have to be converted into a
221666 -        document, like a transcript of testimony in a trial, so why not
221667 -        stick with the easier to grasp notion of document?
221668 -
221669 -        One reason might be that traditonal "documents," like books,
221670 -        memos, articles and correspondence, and like Eric's letter,
221671 -        ref DRT 1 0001, for example, do not fit the more expansive
221672 -        architecture required to augment human intelligence, which Eric
221673 -        called out on 000423, ref SDS 8 5096, and which Doug proposed
221674 -        in a 1972 paper to accomplish better handling of daily working
221675 -        information, reviewed on 000327. ref SDS 6 3971  Since at that
221676 -        time Doug called this effort a "knowledge workshop," knowledge
221677 -        seems like a better term than document, for the respository,
221678 -        because the form, functions and use of such a repository differ
221679 -        markedly from traditonal use of documents.  Technologists are
221680 -        often called upon to come up with catchy new terms, for example
221681 -        cyberspace, Python, C++, Zwiki, Squeak, Zope, Linux, and so on.
221682 -        Knowledge Space was proposed to encapsle the change from
221683 -        traditional documents to the new environment of SDS, for the
221684 -        reasons in the record on 960620. ref SDS 2 3516
221685 -
221686 -        Today, Eric reasonably asks why a DKR; and proposes an OHR, but
221687 -        without offering the reasoning that led to that choice.
221688 -
221689 -     OHS: HyperScope + OHR + HyperDocuments
221690 -
221691 -  ..
221692 - Eric continues....
221693 -
221694 -     At the moment, I continue to reserve the term "DKR" for future
221695 -     developments. Jack and Howard are constructing the ontology for
221696 -     the OHS, and we need that.  But later on they are going to want to
221697 -     build bigger and better ontologies to solve even deeper problems
221698 -     (yes?). ref DRT 1 XK6O
221699 -
221700 -         Does this mean the DKR = OHS + ontology ??
221701 -
221702 -         This is where understanding breaks down without a culture of
221703 -         knowledge, proposed in the letter yesterday, ref SDS 26 GQ8O,
221704 -         and cited again today in another record. ref SDS 27 T69N
221705 -
221706 -     I know that the OHS as currently envisioned will solve a lot of
221707 -     problems, and provide us with the ability to carry on intelligent,
221708 -     far-ranging discussions that can eventually "coalesce" to reach
221709 -     one or more conclusions. ref DRT 1 YK7K
221710 -
221711 -         What problems will OHS solve?
221712 -
221713 -         How are "intelligent" far ranging discussions conducted now,
221714 -         and what makes them "intelligent"?
221715 -
221716 -     I'm not yet convinced, however, that it will give Jack and Howard
221717 -     *all* the tools they need to play with bigger and better
221718 -     ontologies -- to construct them, operate on them, and use them to
221719 -     deal with information in meaningful ways. Much as I want to see
221720 -     the capability come into existence, it is not all clear to me that
221721 -     the current design will be capable of doing that. ref DRT 1 YN8F
221722 -
221723 -         Eric does not cite Paul Fernhout's comments on 000405, that AI
221724 -         and developing data structures/representations is difficult.
221725 -         ref SDS 7 5977  On 001025 Paul and Jack discussed the goal of
221726 -         a technology "engine" that can construct useful
221727 -         representations from text. ref SDS 20 KY5K
221728 -
221729 -           [On 001130 Jack Park proposes ontology engine to improve SDS
221730 -           subjects and links. ref SDS 30 0001
221731 -     ..
221732 -     So I tend to use DKR for that still-nebulous thing we hope
221733 -     to get to sometime downstream.  In many ways, it is a label for my
221734 -     ignorance -- for all the things I have to understand about what we
221735 -     need, and about how to provide them. (The difficulty I have in
221736 -     following ontology-related discussions convinces me that the
221737 -     system I understand (the OHS) is unlikely to qualify as a DKR.),
221738 -     ref DRT 1 DI8N
221739 -
221740 -         This aligns with Eric's letter on 000503 saying "knowledge" is
221741 -         not well understood, ref SDS 11 5033, and that the team has
221742 -         not established the meaning of "knowledge repository".
221743 -         ref SDS 11 0672  He made the same point yesterday. ref SDS 26
221744 -         895L
221745 -
221746 -         It appears to conflict in some respects with Eric's letter on
221747 -         000614 where he cited Doug's 1998 paper for a Technology
221748 -         Template Project that defines OHS as tools, and discusses a
221749 -         Dnyamic Knowledge Environment, that uses Dynamic Knowledge
221750 -         Capture that uses a "repository," reviewed yesterday.
221751 -         ref SDS 26 QU5H
221752 -
221753 -
221754 -
2218 -
2219 -

SUBJECTS
OHS Repository Not Toolset
Define Scope OHS, 001025
Define DKR
OHS/DKR Defined by Doug in Telecon
DKR Operating System Like MS Windows
Killer App KM Solution Needed
Link Original Sources Aids Understanding Context, Doug Engelbart

4310 - 1721
4311 -
431101 -  ..
431102 - Definitions of OHS/DKR Terminology Based on Telecon with Doug
431103 -
431104 - Received ref DRT 2 0001 from Adam Cheyer responding to Eric's letter
431105 - reported above, ref SDS 0 SV8I, and continuing Adam's letter yesterday
431106 - distinguishing OHS and DKR. ref SDS 26 L87F
431107 -
431108 - Adam reports that he called Doug and got definitions listed below;
431109 - and, he comments that Doug was thrilled to be asked about it and was
431110 - happy that we are having dialogs about this because he emphasized how
431111 - working through terms is an essential part of cooperative knowledge
431112 - work.
431113 -
431114 -      [On 001121 letter from Froge Hedland submitting OHS overview,
431115 -      also, based on conversations with Doug. ref SDS 28 0001
431116 -
431117 -      [On 001121 letter on history of OHS and DKR, weakness of relying
431118 -      on memory and conversation, and proposal to use SDS so people can
431119 -      learn about KM by doing KM. ref SDS 29 ER5I
431120 -
431121 - On 001025 Doug asked the team to perform another part of knowledge
431122 - work that requires linking to relevant portions of support documents.
431123 - ref SDS 20 00VU  On 001115 Adam recommended citing Doug's documents
431124 - that establish definitions. ref SDS 26 L87F  The letter on 001115
431125 - recommended "listening to Doug" by citing his documents. ref SDS 26
431126 - MT2T  Another letter earlier today made the point again, as a
431127 - predicate to create a culture of knowledge. ref SDS 27 T69N
431128 -
431129 - Yet, following definitions have no references to Doug's documents...
431130 -
431131 -  ..
431132 -
431133 - Hyperdocument:
431134 -
431135 -    The knowledge container.  No one says it has to be a file, any
431136 -    container. ref DRT 2 PA5N
431137 -
431138 -       If stuff is on the computer, and it is not a file, what is it?
431139 -       If it is not on the computer, how will OHS use it?
431140 -
431141 -       Seems like "linking" needs to come into the definition, per
431142 -       Doug's Launch Plan received on 001025, which places linked files
431143 -       in the center of the Open Hyperdocument System. ref SDS 20 D3W8
431144 -
431145 -       What is "knowledge" and what is a "container"?
431146 -
431147 -          See the review of the Launch Plan on 001025. ref SDS 20 A4U2
431148 -
431149 -  ..
431150 - Dynamic Knowledge Repository:
431151 -
431152 -    The handbook, the conversations and annotations, the contents.
431153 -    Dynamically up to date representing the state of the repository. If
431154 -    you want more depth, you can trace back and find the evolution of
431155 -    that in the record. ref DRT 2 NA6M
431156 -
431157 -       Is this a bunch of "hyperdocuments"?   What conversations, what
431158 -       annotations, what contents?  Is it the email that Eric wants to
431159 -       improve, which can easily be construed to mean "conversation? Is
431160 -       it anything else?  What, and how does it get into the
431161 -       repository, and what happens to it after it gets there?  Who
431162 -       controls it, maintains it, deletes it, and how does solve a
431163 -       world problem set as the objective on 000120? ref SDS 5 1215
431164 -
431165 -       Knowledge Workshop has a broader scope in Doug's 1972 paper
431166 -       reviewed on 000327. ref SDS 6 3971  Would that work?
431167 -
431168 -       On 000614 Doug's paper "Technology Template Project" discusses a
431169 -       "repository" in connection with Dynamic Knowledge Capture, but
431170 -       knowledge is not defined. ref SDS 14 GF9G
431171 -
431172 -
431173 -  ..
431174 - OHS:
431175 -
431176 -    A toolset with the structure and properties of the knowledge
431177 -    containers plus the functions that you can execute on them,
431178 -    including viewing, traveling, linking, editing, etc.  Includes
431179 -    auxilliary languages, compilers, tools, user interface.  Does not
431180 -    include the contents of documents itself, only how you structure
431181 -    and operate on them. ref DRT 2 FE7N
431182 -
431183 -          [On 001121 OHS Overview submitted based on conversations with
431184 -          Doug. ref SDS 28 0001
431185 -
431186 -        ..
431187 -       Operating System...
431188 -
431189 -       Adam comments that...
431190 -
431191 -       OHS to me now seems almost like the term "MS Windows", which
431192 -       contains the operating system, the look and feel, the
431193 -       philosophy, as well as a set of included tools such as the web
431194 -       browser or media player.  But it appears OHS does not represent
431195 -       the content of the knowledge repository or containers
431196 -       (documents).
431197 -
431198 -           The OHS Launch Plan Doug submitted on 001025, seems to set
431199 -           out a variety of editing functions that generate, link and
431200 -           view documents. e.g., ref SDS 20 D6H8 and ref SDS 20 E9G2,
431201 -           and further for OHS. ref SDS 20 X25O
431202 -
431203 -           On 950927 SDS is an operating system for people and
431204 -           organizations, ref SDS 1 8400, submitted most recently to
431205 -           SRI on 001011 to build a culture of knowledge. ref SDS 17
431206 -           5G5N
431207 -
431208 -           How does OHS accomplish that?
431209 -
431210 -
431211 -  ..
431212 - HyperScope:
431213 -
431214 -    Part of the OHS, that you can implement early and get immediate
431215 -    utility in the context of legacy files.  As it evolves to add more
431216 -    features (e.g. backlinking, editing), it becomes a bigger part of
431217 -    the OHS. ref DRT 2 00VW
431218 -
431219 -       This aligns with the OHS Launch Plan received on 001025.
431220 -
431221 -
431222 -
431223 -
431224 -
431225 -
431226 -
431227 -
431228 -
431229 -
431230 -
431231 -
Distribution. . . . See "CONTACTS"