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Alphabet systems

Posted By: Nack Ballard
Date: Thursday, 8 April 2010, at 12:58 a.m.

In Response To: Alphabet systems (Chase)

I'm glad you've come to a similar conclusion.

We agree that eliminating "I/i" makes sense (similarity with J/j, L/l and 1 in some fonts or if you're writing it).

The decision to keep or eliminate L/l seems a lot closer. It's the lower-case "l" that is a concern. I'll point out that if you don't shorten doublets to one digit then you have no conflict (indeed that's one reason I kept both digits of a doublet with Nactation), but going either way (with or without L/l) seems reasonable to me.

Another possibility is to replace L with "V." Universally, a V looks like an L turned at a 45 degree angle. (Also, in English, it is in the word "eleVen"). That would allow you to keep M for midpoint.

My (close) recommendation would be to keep L, and write out both numbers of a doublets. This is not only more readable for people you are hoping will become enthused by the system (in case that's one of your goals), but a subtle compensatory advantage is if there is a forced or patently obvious play, you have the option to omit letters entirely. "21" would always mean "21 is rolled and the forced/obvious play made" and cannot possibly mean instead "22 is rolled and a checker is played to the lower-case L point."

Before you definitely settle on Alphadual (as opposed to an all-caps system), I also want to mention (in case I didn't before) that computer file names are case-insensitive. With most operating systems, the directory will display a "B" if that's what you type, or it will display a "b" if that's what you type, but for example one file named 21bE and another named 21Be cannot coexist in the same folder. One will overwrite onto the other (with an option to cancel, thankfully). With Nactation, capital letters define the vast majority of plays (and there are typically alternative characters for the same play), but with Alphadual half of your letters will be lower case. So, you may want to contemplate what sorts of file names you will have (if any) and what conflicts might occur.

Good luck,

Nack

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