A: NICOLE is an acronym which stands for NEARLY INTELLIGENT COMPUTER OPERATED LANGUAGE EXAMINER.
A: The lastest version of NICOLE can be downloaded from http://nicole.sourceforge.net
A: You aren't doing anything wrong. You can't expect NICOLE to know everything from a blank database. The knowledge base needs to grow over time and use. When you encounter a *I'm speechless* response, NICOLE doesn't know how to answer, so it gives up and starts up a new conversation thread.
A: NICOLE automatically populates the database with new words that it encounters as it is used. There is also the 'import' program in which you can import a text file, listing a single word per line. The words in the text file must be uppercase for it to word.
A: Likewise, NICOLE populates the database with new sentences and phrases as it is used. At this stage however, I'm working on an import utility, similar to the 'word import' that also includes sentences and links.
A: Simply go to http://sourceforge.net/projects/nicole and read up on the latest and greatest about NICOLE. Join into the discussion groups, and suggest ideas to add to the project (even become a programmer to the group) You can submit patches to the NICOLE team via the sourceforge web site at the address http://sourceforge.net/patch/?group_id=2968
A: If you need help, or want to ask questions then go the the support request area at Sourceforge. You can log support requests for nicole at http://sourceforge.net/support/?group_id=2968