Re: Lighting Some Flames: Towards conlang artistry

My two dollars,

Bummer, it seems like this happens in everywhere I
go.  As a member of an embattled art form, namely
classical composition, I hear this same argument over
and over.  While some people may be saying whats wrong
with classical music, Mozart is great, I would like to
remind them that he has been dead for a couple of
centuries.  The truth is that the discipline of
art-music composition in America has much in common
with conlanging.  As a artistic discipline it is
comprised of a small group of dedicated people who
form a sub-subculture that enjoy and share their
creations amongst themselves.  I could list people who
I would elevate to the level of Mozart, Stravinsky and
Brahms and most people here would probably be saying,
who? The people within this discipline are widely
varied, containing both professionals and outsiders -
like myself.

Those who seek to be in the limelight are, in my mind,
mildly delusional and are hoping to be one of the
chosen few to rise out of the bubbling mass.  JRR
Tolkein is one of the deserving few, yet he did a lot
to get there. In music, John Williams deserves it, but
we all wonder if Philip Glass made a deal with the
devil.

Yes, some art is better than other art.  My slam
against Philip Glass above makes that obvious, but I
may have just offended someone.  Not that that was my
intention but my opinion and as long as I have the
ability to state my critical opinion the community I
participate in will be affected.  I agree with Jesse's
statements about criticism etc, but I think to have to
state it in such a way, talking about schools and
especially the bit about telling people their
languages suck, is rather silly.  Heck, what if you
have some twelve year old sitting on their PC trying
to make up something and it is juvenile.  It would
seem to me that the idea of healthy criticism is to
raise the standard of the art form not diminish those
who are not meeting your standards.  Just the thought
of putting my stuff in public has made me revise and
learn so much, especially considering I have little
linguistics knowledge.  I don't want someone with more
knowledge than I to just sit there and laugh at some
half cocked, childish description I have written.
Anyway, I should stop before I begin to rant.

Do with this what you will,
Jesse (the other one)

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