Frequently Asked Questions
Why is this article short?
What are sections?
Why are people listed firstname-lastname?
Can I use this picture?
Where is it hosted?
How big is it?
Can I link to you?
Can I license data?
Who is responsible?
Why Is This Article Short?
The Probert Encyclopaedia utilises a web approach of many concise
articles linked together by hypertext links, rather than repeating
the same information in associated articles. This we feel enables
the reader to quickly get the facts, and then research a topic more
deeply should the reader wish, rather than overwhelming the reader in
the first instance with a large volume of, perhaps, unrequired information.
What Are Sections?
The Probert Encyclopaedia sub-divides information into categorised
sections, in a fashion much like the Pears Cyclopaedia. Thus, articles
with the same heading, such as 'Lynx', but with very different contexts
will appear in separate sections. Reading about the Lynx cat in the
nature section the reader may be oblivious to the astronomical
constellation of Lynx and the computer programme known as Lynx. If one
was interested in the Lynx cat then these two additional articles about
'Lynx' would not be required. Hence we separate them into their relevant
sections.
Why Are People Listed Firstname-Lastname?
The Probert Encyclopaedia refers to people in the same way that human
beings refer to them, by their first name followed by their family name.
This is different to other reference works where people are listed by their
family name first. We have done this to facilitate easy referencing of
articles about people from related articles. It does mean, however, that
to locate an article about a person you need to search on their first name
followed by their family name, and not simply their family name.
Can I Use This Picture?
You may use any of the pictures in The Probert Encyclopaedia in your own
projects. But, you should not link directly to pictures served from our
web server from your web site. Instead, copy the pictures you want to your
own web server.
Please note: some pictures in The Probert Encyclopaedia have been obtained
from the public domain in good faith, but may have been released without the
copyright holder's permission, while we never knowingly include any
copyright images accidents can happen and we cannot guarantee the
status of images you choose to copy, with the exception of the photographs
in the photo library which are copyright The New Society for the Diffusion of Knowledge,
and MAY be freely copied and used.
Where Is It Hosted?
The Probert Encyclopaedia is hosted by The New Society for the Diffusion of Knowledge (NSDK)
on its own servers at www.probertencyclopaedia.com (aka www.probert-encyclopaedia.co.uk).
Other sites you may find on the web claiming to be The Probert Encyclopaedia
are unsupported copies and fakes, please do not contact us about issues
associated with these other sites!
How Big Is It?
As of June 2013, the Probert Encyclopaedia consisted of:
- 300,000+ references
- 177,000+ headings
- 6,850,000+ words
- 41,500,000+ bytes of raw data
- 45,000+ illustrations and photos
- 8500+ maps
Can I Link To You?
Please feel free to link to pages of this encyclopaedia as you wish, but
do NOT link to pages or images causing them to be served from our server to
be displayed on your web site. Incidentally, linking to external web sites
helps to improve your own web site's rankings with the search engines.
Can I License Data?
Yes. Although The New Society for the Diffusion of Knowlegde is a
not-for-profit organisation, it needs to raise monies to operate.
To this end we sell data not only in e-book form but we also license data
for redistribution by companies within their own applications and publications.
Licensed data includes pictures when required and does not require any
reference to be given to The Probert Encyclopaedia or NSDK. Prices vary,
depending upon what data is required, but are all a single payment for a
lifetime, transferable, unrestricted, license. Data may be supplied in
various formats as required.
Acknowledgments
Grateful thanks are due to the following people who, since this project
started in February 1993, have provided the support, encouragement,
assistance and contributions without which The Probert Encyclopaedia would
not have been produced:
The Probert Encyclopaedia is written by Matt Probert and Leela Probert
and published electronically by The New Society for the Diffusion of Knowledge
©1993 - 2013 The New Society for the Diffusion of Knowledge
Southampton, England, SO18 5HN
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