[alicebot-general] Updating the AIML spec?

[Dr. Rich Wallace]

AFAIK the only custom tags in the AAA set are Pandorabots tags,
which are listed here:
http://www.alicebot.org/documentation/ptags.html

That same page has links to some other useful documents:

+ The AIML Overview by Dr Rich Wallace.
+ A Tutorial for adding knowledge to your robot by Doubly Aimless
+ Be Your Own Botmaster, 2nd ed. Dr. Rich Wallace

Someday we'd like to set up a Wiki for the AAA set, but I'm not sure a
Wiki per se captures the exact functionality we need for sharing AIML. 
Some AIML servers (not Pandorabots) allow users to share AIML libraries. 
It would be nice for bots on the same server to share the latest
up-to-date AAA set, or other AIML sets, w/o the botmaster having to update
or upload ever time there is a change.  It would be nice to have a scoring
capability for the "most popular" or "top 20" AIML files or libraries or
botmaster/authors.

The AIML spec needs to be rewritten.  One of these days I will get around
to it.  Offline contributions are welcome.

Here is a brief outline I wrote last month for a possible book or wiki
about AIML Best Practices. The idea is to come up with some examples of
AIML for each heading or chapter:

1. The Ultimate Default Category <pattern>*</pattern>
2. Collecting synonyms using <srai>
3. Using <random> in high frequency categories
4. Reducing adverbs and redundant words
5. Divide & Conquer with <srai>
6. YES and NO questions with <that>
7. <that>WHAT IS YOUR NAME</that>
8. Setting predicate defaults
9. Setting and using pronoun predicates
10. Use <person/> sparingly
11. Use <think> to set predicates and topic
12. AIML conditionals
13. Conditionals with <srai>
14. System design and real-world interfaces

> Is it true that the AIML spec's been a "draft" for
> over half a decade now (2001 was the last revision)?
>
> I'm looking at:
> http://www.alicebot.org/TR/2001/WD-aiml/
>
> Would it be possible to open up that draft in a wiki
> fashion somewhere so it could finished by volunteers?
>
> Then take that 1.0.1 page and redirect it to the wiki?
>
> Also that wiki could be used to put in several
> illustrative examples and AIML techniques for each tag
> by some of us volunteers.
>
> It's frustrating when someone asks me for help with
> AIML in the Annotated Alice set that my interpreter
> doesn't handle and I find some new attribute or xml
> element isn't part of the 1.0.1 specification but is
> in Annotated Alice.
>
> Likewise, good clear examples are lacking and I would
> like to add them.
>
> It's also frustrating when people ask me where to
> learn AIML and I have to point them to a terse and
> incomplete specification with no examples.
>
> This core deficiency is hindering the acceptance of
> AIML and making it difficult for bot and interpreter
> writers around the world.
>
>
>
>
>
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