Theiling Online    Sitemap    Conlang Mailing List HQ   

Re: CHAT: History of Conlang List

From:Tim Smith <timsmith@...>
Date:Thursday, March 25, 1999, 2:28
At 01:54 PM 3/24/99 -0800, JOEL MATTHEW PEARSON wrote:
>Do you happen to recall the year when the Conlang list was founded? I >joined the list in late 1993 or early 1994, during Lars Mathieson's >tenure. I consider myself something of an old-timer, and I'm curious >as to whether that impression is justified. :-) > >Back in '93/'94, if I remember, the list was already shifting away from >Auxlang dominance and towards Artlang dominance. There were still >frequent and lively discussions on topics of Auxlang/Loglang interest >(such as bracketing paradoxes and parsable morphology), but the Esperanto >Flame Wars were over and the Auxlang list had already been created as >a place of refuge/exile... > >Matt. >
I think some of your timing may be off by a year or so. I joined the list in September of '95. (I'm pretty sure of the date because it was right after I came back from the World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow and subsequent traveling in Scotland and England. I first heard about the list in e-mail discussions in preparation for the con, but I remember deciding to put off joining until after the trip.) And I distinctly remember some flame wars between supporters and opponents of Esperanto. (In fact, it seems like there was a fairly long period of almost continuous flame wars, but my memory may be exaggerating that.) I also remember a lot of other auxlang-oriented arguments (for instance, about whether or not Glosa is a relex of English). And I think I remember the creation of the Auxlang list. On the other hand, I'm struck (not for the first time) by how vague some of my memories turn out to be when I really try to examine them closely. ------------------------------------------------- Tim Smith timsmith@global2000.net Get your facts first and then you can distort them as you please. - Mark Twain