Etruscan Texts Project (ETP): Update on their database error

As I had already stated in a previous blog, I was astonished that, despite being a much needed website for distributing information on Etruscan inscriptions to everyone online, the Etruscan Texts Project (ETP) at the University of Massachusetts had a lazy duplication error sitting in its database for more than a year (!!!?) before I, the neurotic that I admittedly am, notified them by email. They graciously responded but gave me a lame techie tale about the complications of EpiDoc formatting. Being that they don't know who I am from mitochondrial Eve, they no doubt assumed that I was some average hobbyist without experience in empty database technobabble.

Since they surely have resolved their technological dilemma months later, lo and behold, the same errors are still sitting there:

ETP 341
ETP 358

Is "lazy" too politically incorrect an adjective nowdays, or should I dare let that poor cat out the bag? No one's perfect, but come off it already! Quite frankly, I don't think it's unfair to question the professionality of a university project maintained by anonymous characters "James" and "Zilath" anyway. Anonymity is for Wikipedia. Where did accountability go or were those mores finally abandoned in the last century for the euphoria of dogmatic relativism?

While they are apparently receiving (and spending?) funds from other generous organizations for their academic ennui (see here), I coincidently haven't yet noticed too many persons citing ETP index numbers. Of course, we do find a certain Rex Wallace making reference to a few in his article in the Summer 2006 newsletter Etruscan News but you may have already guessed where Rex Wallace heralds from. Yes, the University of Massachusetts. In fact, he is the very person that directs the ETP Project itself (read more under About ETP). Beautiful marketing, really. Good job, good job. The conspiracy thickens...