What is Rhyme & Reason?
Rhyme & Reason is a suite of online tools for poets and lyricists. It includes an editor for writing verse, an integrated dictionary, rhyming dictionary and thesaurus for finding words, metrical scanning tools for identifying meter and rhyme scheme, as well as features that allow you to share your work with others and comment on other writers' poems or lyrics.
How much does it costs?
Nothing! Rhyme & Reason is entirely free. Just sign up and try it out. Eventually, I will probably run a modest number of ads, but not just yet. Also, I may offer some additional for-pay premium services in the future. But the core Rhyme & Reason features -- what you see today and a lot more I plan on building -- will remain free.
Why can't I get into Rhyme & Reason?
Do you have a pop-up blocker enabled? If so, follow your browser's instructions for allowing popups for rhymereason.net. Rhyme & Reason does not use pop-up ads. The only window that will pop up is the Rhyme & Reason tool, so it's afe to disable the pop-up blocker for this site.
If that isn't the proble,, check to make sure that you have entered your username and password correctly.
Why is Rhyme & Reason slow to load?
Rhyme & Reason is a complex application with a lot of functionality that needs to get downloaded to your browser. The first time it loads it may take a minute. Please be patient. I am working on reducing the size of the files so that it loads faster and will continue to improve perfromance. After the first time it loads, the files should be saved in your browser's cache, so that it will load quickly next time.
Do I have to download or install any software?
No, Rhyme & Reason works in your browser. It uses Ajax (a new Web technology) to provide the feel of a desktop application in your browser.
Is Rhyme & Reason officially released?
No, like all of these fancy new Web 2.0 applications that are coming out, Rhyme & Reason is currently released as beta software. That means that it is pre-release mode and I am still fixing bugs and working out kinks. Please let me know if you find any. I am hoping to be out of beta as soon as possible.
What browsers does Rhyme & Reason support?
Currently, it has been tested most on Firefox 2 and IE7. However, it should work on Firefox 1.5 and IE6 as well, though IE6 still has some issues with the Settings dialog. Before long I expect to have full support for Firefox 1.5 and IE6. If anybody wants to donate a Mac, I will look at Safari, though my understanding is that a lot of the features in Rhyme & Reason will not easily port to that browser. I have not yet tested on Opera, but would like to support that browser eventually as well.
At the moment, however, the best browsers for Rhyme & Reason are Firefox 2 and IE7.
What are those dashes and semi-circles over the words at the bottom of the screen?
These are accent marks, indicating the meter of the line. I will, in time, be writing more documentation and notes on poetry and form in particular.
What are those letters and numbers below the selected word on the Words tab, e.g. "AA1 N" for the word "on"?
That is the pronunciation indicator. Rhyme & Reason uses that to know how words sound, to find rhymes and determine meter. Each letter or letter group represents a unique pronunciation sound. For example, the word "example" has the pronunciation "IH0 G Z AE1 M P AH0 L". Each sound is separated by a space. Numbers indicate the accented syllables, where 0 is unaccented and 1 is the primary accent. "IH" signifies the short "e" at the begining of "example". The symbols "G Z" represent the pronunciation of the letter "x" in "example" and so on. I will be providing more details on the pronunciation encoding used in Rhyme & Reason, as well as some tricks and new features that will let you take further advantage of them soon.
How can I add my own words, change the pronunciation of a word, choose a particular pronunciation for a particular context, etc.?
You can't... yet. I am now working on this type of functionality. However, my first priority is to get the software stable and bug free. Next I will work on rolling out the word editor.