Re: conlang t-shirt

On Thu, 4 Nov 1999, Gerald Koenig wrote:

> I fully agree with John Cowan. There is a kind of cross-fertilization
> that goes on in an open but moderated list. Of course the problem is
> always proselytizing one's own private views, but who is innocent
> of that; even trying to exclude auxlangers is a form of it.
> Artlangers who are here are by that fact sharing and hoping for friends;
> as auxlangers are on a larger scale. The poles of pure self-absorbtion
> and pure self-immolation are seldom inhabited by conlangers. Let us
> simply be tolerent of different positions on the continuum of art and
> aux, and by all means refrain from proselytizing. Both sides will benefit,
> and those of us in the middle will not feel so torn.
Hey, wait a minute! I didn't actually *propose* changing the name of
the list, I just wanted to know whether Jay Bowks thought that it is
because this list happens to be called "conlang", not "artlang", that
we're obliged to include any or all auxlangs as well - even though
there is a separate list for that.

I was on the origibal conlang list in 1995 and left it because of the
prevailing hostile attitude to artlangs and artlangers: every time I
posted something about Valdyan it was dismissed, often patronizingly,
as if I was a child with a toy gun in a military barracks (cute, but
no use at all). That discouraged me so much that I stopped posting,
and almost stopped conlanging.

Finding out that the list had split, and that the artlangers and
auxlangers each had a place to do their own thing without annoying
the other bunch, was very heartening. I don't want the same hostile
attitude to rear its ugly head again here - I don't think I'm in any
danger of stopping conlanging now, but I like to have an outlet with
constructive feedback and without worries.

   Irina

            Varsinen an laynynay, saraz no arlet rastynay.
                     irina@rempt.xs4all.nl (myself)
       http://www.xs4all.nl/~bsarempt/irina/index.html (English)
    http://www.xs4all.nl/~bsarempt/irina/backpage.html (Nederlands)