The policies advocated in the preceding section for such packages are
being put into practice as fully as possible. For example, all the data-files and
programs will be open to viewing, modification, and redistribution. Over
twenty factors are dealt with, and responses to seasonal variations are
simulated. Abundant information is given with each prediction to show how
it was arrived at - thus assisting checking and learning. The handbook
is being written in a style which helps non-qualified people to use the
simplest procedures without misleading themselves or others (they are then
encouraged to develop their expertise gradually to higher levels). The
registration system will be designed to bind users to each other rather than
to the makers of the package. And to help users who cannot afford formal
analysis of their soil, there is even a routine for making a first-guess soil file
from the type of verbal description of a profile that non-experts can make.