Re: CHAT: History of Conlang List

And Rosta wrote (about the early history of Conlang):

> The list was both initiated and set-up by John Ross, then a PhD
> student in (astro)physics somewhere in the USA. It then passed to
> Lars Mathieson, and then to David Durand (bless all three).
>
> John posted to sci.lang and to Tolklang asking if anyone was
> interested in invented languages. A small group of us (four or
> five, including me & Rick Harrison) emailed each other privately and
> then decided to set up Conlang. Of people who subscribed to that
> from the outset, I think only me, John Cowan & Lojbab remain
> subscribed. (In fact, it's one of the reasons I stay subscribed even
> when the traffic overwhelms my available time.)
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.