[TML] Traveller Software: common file formats?

[Tom B]

>
> I'd argue that non-programmers shouldn't be getting anywhere near the
> format.  You wouldn't expect the non-literate to write a text, or the
> non-mechanics to "improve" their cars!
>

That's a very modern viewpoint. Why would anyone not of an expert class ever
want to attempt to modify or reuse any form of invention? Very modern, but
rather limiting.

There are plenty of people who have modified their cars who are not car
experts. And the non-literate can have a lot to say.

One of the aspects of having a common file format is it could (in theory)
lend itself to easy modification and use by others. This is one of the
common themes of open source work. If you make something easy to use and
modify and publicly available, fairly often others will find a way to use it
and do something fun/useful/entertaining/bizarre with it that you never
expected.

If you develop something that requires a Rosetta Stone and several volumes
of Apocrypha to decrypt and work with, then this tends not to happen.