Definition of cloning

Posted by mindlace on 8/25/1999
mindlace 8/25/1999 3:03 am
These outliners sound fascinating. Could someone please give me a complete definition of cloning behavior? 'gathering' would be nice too.
dave 8/25/1999 8:47 am
Let me give an example. Let's say I'm an attorney doing client interviews, document reviews, depositions, and some preliminary analysis. When I start the case, the facts are few, but as I go on, the universe of potentially relevant facts gets quite large. And let's say that I use MORE to try to keep track of things.

As I prepare for the deposition of Mr. Big, let's say that certain issues and facts seem to relate to each other, but the info is spread throughout a massive MORE document. Say there's a particular meeting that witnesses have differing recollections. Say there's a contract provision of questionable interpretation.

Using MORE, I can search for a particular term or phrase (e.g., "1996 contract, and more can (if I so desire) find AND mark each occurrence. I can go through and mark additional headlines, unmark headlines of irrelevant headlines.

So what do I do with the marked headlines? I gather them under the headline of my choice. For example, I might have a headline in Mr. Big's depo outline for the 1996 contract. I can "gather" every marked headline and put it under this headline. I could move the marked headlines, but then I'd lose that headline in its original location. I could duplicate the headline, but then if I discover a changed or new fact, the obsolete info remains in the original location.

Or I could "clone" the headline. What does that mean? I have the same headline in different places. If I change it in one place, it changes in the other place, too. Say that I have a headline about the participants at a certain meeting. While deposing Mr. Big, I discover that Mr. Money was also at the meeting. I change the cloned headline, and the info gets updated in the original headline.

Does that help? Download MORE and try it out. Very cool stuff.