Re: CHAT: facing your own mortality (as a conlanger)

Rick Harrison wrote:

>Tuesday night I fell into a pond and nearly drowned. Since it was warm
>stagnant water, there is a remote chance that I may have been infected
>by Naegleria fowleri amoeba; if so, I could be dead within a couple of
>weeks.
we all surely hope not.......
>
>Obviously that's a personal problem of no importance to anyone else,
>but it brings to mind the question of preparing for death as a
>conlanger, because the human body is very vulnerable and you never
>know when your number will come up in the lottery.
Clearly, it has crossed the minds of several, including myself.
>
>If you have a personal language that you've never revealed to
>anyone else, for example: would you want to write a description of
>the language ahead of time, and make arrangements to have it
>published after passing away? How would you make such arrangements?
Ditto for all my personal stuff--
**poems-- If I ever finish the vast majority of them, I'll self-publish.
**Indonesian research-- I kind of know who to pass it on to, and it may or
may not be helpful. **languages not yet (or not completely) webified--
limited webspace and inertia......
>
>If you have web pages that you want to stay online after you can
>no longer pay the hosting bill, what options are available? The
>Wayback Machine at archive.org doesn't catch everything and it might
>not be around forever.
I found one piece of my Kash stuff there once, but haven't checked lately to
see what's there.
>
>The conlangers of ancient times published their ideas in books,
>which has preserved them to some degree, although some of the old
>books are scarce collectors' items, unavailable from libraries and
>never webified.
I assume that free webpages (like mine on Tripod) stay around as long as the
host remains in business, but what happens when they merge with Yahoo or
someone?

If the LCS truly gets off the ground, perhaps it could host web pages (but
does anything last in perpetuity?), or better, a library of materials in
print or on microfilm (does anyone still do that?). Perhaps in time one
could make an arrangement with some library to host the printed/micro stuff.
>
>Is it arrogant to want some of your ideas to live on after you die?
Not in my opinion :-)))))

(Written 2318 EDT 26 June 2008
0603 CMT lalap 28 açundrim 757 p.v.)

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