Re: A proposal to bring together the conlang communities

I've been reading with much interest the posts on
Sai's proposal to have a unified prescence for the
conlanging community. At the risk of wading into the
debate, I'll add my thoughts...(sans snips from
previous posts...It would appear most everyone has an
idea of the original and subsequent issues raised).

1) A unified wiki/blog/list etc:
I, personally, think this is a great idea. While I
agree that we are a diverse community with diverse
interests and inclinations, we all share at least one
aspect IMHO: an interest in how language works and how
language components can be manipulated in an
artificial environment, whether this environment is
Middle-earth, outer space, a peaceful integrated real
Earth (where everyone speaks "our" favorite auxlang),
in our own con-world, or just the environment in our
own heads. Having a "one-stop shop," so to speak,
would have a two-fold benefit: aspiring conlangers (or
simply interested lay people) could be directed there;
experienced conlangers could more easily keep updated
on developments within the community. As I see it, the
interested aspiring conlanger would be able to taste
all that conlanging has to offer, take a bite of
everything, and decide what they like or don't
like...oo, that spicy engelang was tasty! I think
we've discussed the fragmentation/Balkanization of
conlanging on this list before, and I, for one, am a
proponent of the "big tent" theory. I was not around
then, but I understand the fear of "flame wars" with
auxlangs, but it certainly sounds like it was a lively
list back then. My upcoming exhibit (post coming soon
again) on conlangs includes everything from Esperanto
to Elvish and everything in-between. That is what I
would envision for the omnibus wiki/site/etc.

2. A conlang journal
Personally, I think a PDF journal would be the way to
go. It certainly cuts down on costs (printing,
postage, etc.) and still allows for a nice
professional printing if desired. E-journals
definitely seem to be the trend anyway. I'm still a
little daunted by the "journal" concept however. And
what would the audience be. Would we be preaching to
the choir or would we look to expand the readership to
a general audience (albeit one linguistically
inclined). I believe I remember reading content would
include book reviews as well. I may be putting the
cart before the horse, but just something to think
about.

- Don


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