Dictionaries better be offline - Re: How to make Emacs popular again.

[Jean Louis]

* Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org> [2020-10-04 06:39]:
> Even if my local dictionary took more work to search, which it
> doesn't, I would I always prefer my local dictionary over anything
> that requires network communication.

Definitely good, safe and practical approach.

Dictionaries are traditionally books and handy, used when learning.

Let me give you example, phones and outside networks are forbidden in
many universities in Tanzania and Uganda (about 90 million
people). That means a student of 20 years, even adult, is disallowed
mobile phone while in university.

Yet they are allowed to use computers and notebooks. We speak of
millions of people, I guess there are millions of students in those
countries.

When in the library or at home, I am often reading books and need
quick lookup in the dictionary, normally I am using Wordnet, and I
prefer having everything offline. These days I hope to establish to
have Wiktionary and Wikipedia offline, for youth in this
house.