[tei-council] handShift anomaly

[David J Birnbaum]

Dear Lou (cc Council),

 > <handShift><desc>writing goes a bit wonky here</desc></handDesc>
 >
 > I think that's quite useful for simple cases.

Agreed. The problem that I see is that we can't easily permit this 
without permitting the inconsistent combination of @new with <desc/>
elsewhere. I can see the arguments for both positions:

1) allow both, since @new is better for some projects and <desc/> is 
better for others

2) allow only one, since either is fully adequate for all projects, and 
allowing only one reduces the opportunity for error or inconsistency. If 
this argument is, itself, to be consistent, we should favor @new over 
<desc/>, so that if the same hand occurs in multiple places, we won't 
have to describe it twice, and risk doing so inconsistently.

I favor #2, not because #1 isn't better in some cases, but because I 
think the cost outweigh the benefit.

Best,

David