Re: OT: Whatever

If I can offer some advice, this seems to be an issue with wanting
the list to be something that it isn't.  The list can be used
profitably,
but there are some things that won't garner much discussion.  I've
been on the list since 2000, and have always found it helpful, though
I've learned a few things about which posts get replies and which
don't.

For example, an issue came up with one of my languages (Kamakawi)
during the inverse relay.  Arthaey was using Kamakawi to try to
translate some specific sentences (in this case, relative clauses with
"to be" as the main verb, which Kamakawi doesn't have a verb for),
and she didn't
know how.  This is because I somehow never in my years got
around to even thinking about how to do this.  I came up with
some solutions, but each one had serious flaws, and I really needed
help in trying to sort things out.  It was rather a long and tangled
issue, and I realized that while I *could* post it to the list, I might
not get many replies (the message I was writing was getting far
too long), so, instead, I discussed it with Doug Ball offlist.  Doug's
on Conlang, and a friend of mine, and he knows Kamakawi
probably better than anyone else (other than me), and also has
a good understanding of polynesian languages (which was what
Kamakawi was patterned after).  We had a good discussion about
it, and I got a satisfactory solution to my problem.

I'd like to suggest that this is not the type of thing to write to the
list about.  That isn't to say that those on the list couldn't provide
insight (I best most could have), but that the nature of the list is
not such that we, as list members, can be expected to have background
knowledge of every language, and to devote, say, an hour to
answering everyone's questions satisfactorily.  I find the posts
that I get the best replies to or posts where I provide everyone
with succinct and thorough background knowledge for the task
at hand and ask one or two *specific* questions.  Whenever I've
had a question or a problem with one of my languages and I've
designed posts in this way, I've gotten a lot of very useful feedback.

This is just what I've noticed as a list member.  The list is not
perfect (after all, we're just a collection of individuals here of
our own free will), but if used properly, can be extremely fruitful.

-David
*******************************************************************
"sunly eleSkarez ygralleryf ydZZixelje je ox2mejze."
"No eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn."

-Jim Morrison

http://dedalvs.free.fr/

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