Re: Fire Hydrant for the Flames

Shreyas Sampat sikayal:

> : As another alternative, we could set up a system similar to the one used
> : on the writing critique group I'm a part of.  People earn points by
> : critiquing others' conlangs, and then cash in those points for the right
> : to get their conlang reviewed.  There would be certain requirements for
> : what could get a point (e.g. you have to write more than five sentences),
> : but no theoretical limit on how often or when you can post languages for
> : critique, provided that you have enough points for it.
>
> That seems like a reasonable alternative as well.  What kind of timetable
> would that run on?
No timetable.  People post reviews and critiques whenever they want to.
See below for a fuller description of what I have in mind.

> How much automation can be done through the mailing list itself?  Though
> it's better by far than no automation at all, something of the website kind
> could be a hassle to work with.  (I'm sure with those advanced mailer
> prgrams that float around some kind of tracking script could be written)
Actually, this could be set up with a really simple mail bot.  All we'd
need is a separate address that people send grammatical sketches and
reviews to.  We'd have to agree on some subject tag like [GRAMMAR] and
[CRIT] to distinguish the two.  Then the mailer bot would look at the
messages it receives, credit points for reviews or deduct them for grammar
posts, and forward them to the list.  It should probably also e-mail
posters (privately!) to let them know how many points they have, etc.

This doesn't *guarantee* that people will get reviews, but it sets up a
strong tit-for-tat incentive and provides some accountability.  Who
supports something like this?


Jesse S. Bangs jaspax@u.washington.edu

"If you look at a thing nine hundred and ninety-nine times, you are
perfectly safe; if you look at it the thousandth time, you are in
frightful danger of seeing it for the first time."
--G.K. Chesterton

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