Frunch, GCB and I have been talking recently, trying to figure out the future of The Dvorak Zine and DVzine.org. As we get older, we are all becoming very busy guys, and we need to keep the scope of the project small and manageable, instead of expanding it into too many new areas which we will not be able to maintain.
One area we found, where we can cut back, is the idea of translating the Dvorak Zine in a variety of languages. We had created a rough draft of a French Dvorak Zine (which we mentioned here on the blog) but after a lot of thinking and discussion, we have decided to cancel that project. It opens a door to more translations, which we do not have the time to create.
We are deeply honored that so many people across the world, want to spread the message of our zine, but we no longer think that a direct translation is the best way to do so. Our zine is very specifically about an American invention, and American inventors dealing with the English language in a very specific way.
We encourage others to create their OWN zine, dealing with the specific history of their language's version of the Dvorak layout. If anyone wants to use our zine as a reference about the history of the keyboard, or as a template of how to use comics to get across this information, that would be great! But we no longer wish to try and port our zine internationally.
We will of course continue to list links of international sites in the International Section of our site.
Our main goals, as they stand now, are: 1) to spread the word about Dvorak with our site and zine 2) to help new Dvorak typists with their transition into the world of better typing by answering their questions via email 3) to use this blog to point people to new Dvorak resources as they become available. Those are responsibilities we can handle!
