Re: conlang.org

Whoa... danger, Will Robinson! The net is vast and infinite[*]. (Not to
mention expensive.)

* David G. Durand (david@dynamicdiagrams.com) [990816 22:59]:
> I applied for this domain, as I wanted us to have it available, and I was
> starting to worry once I saw that conlang.com is now taken (but the Italian
> Consulate General of Los Angeles).
What is the 'conlang' in conlang.com an abbreviation for?

> Don't waste time going to the conlang.org web server:
/snip/
> so accessing it a lot could even get me in trouble.
Which means it needs to be hosted somewhere else. Where, geographically,
and by whom, and who will pay for the domain etc.?

> I have had a few conlang organization ideas for a long time,
/snip/
> webspace [..for conlangs..]
It would perhaps be nice to have a sort of conlang museum. People do stop
working on a project, and we all stop working on our projects when we die.
There should be a way to store such voices from the past..

And then there are those losing net-access, shouldn't their work still be
accessible?

Err, a conlang graveyard... maybe not.

> I want to put our own archives of the mailing list up, searchable in toto.
> That takes work, of course, and I may not get much time in the near future.
I hereby happily volunteer my time to code up/fix something here.

> We could host a conlang webring (perhaps the new scattered toungues)?
The fun bits are done and the thing is working. What's missing is the parts
I find dull, nice layout on produced pages and web-based administrative
tools. I would especially appreciate help with the layout-part...

> I've wanted to do dead-tree publications of some Conlang-related material,
/snip/
> This project requires money, both for startup, as well as a market for the
> books themselves.                                           ^^^^^^
I'd sort this under "desireable pipedream"... There might be quite a few
conlangers around, but I doubt that those that have the necessary monetary
means and inclination are many enough. Print-on-demand might do it, but
p-o-d has been 'on the rise' for ages already...

> We could have book recommendations on the conlang.org website. This could
> address the money problem by having conlang.org be an Amazon associate.
I don't think this will get us much money. Same problem as above, market,
and what do we do when everyobody has bought everything?

> I would like this to be a web-based database, so that we could all
> collaborate to keep interesting books on the site.
It IS a good idea, yes.

Other points...
> The LISTSERV information should definitely be on the site.
> [..] provide domain names for conlangs themselves [..]
> [..] another database that lists "official" conlang pages [..]
> [..] incorporate as a nonprofit, but that's too much work for me [..]
Rome wasn't built in a day, lets do this step by step and not bite over
more than we can chew. (Now -that- is one bad collection of clichees.)

Digging into the past, there seems to have been many a grand conlangers
scheme that sooner or later failed, leaving incomplete fossils all over
the place. I do think it is possible to learn from history, though.

[*] Ten virtual bucks to the first to name the movies those quotes are
from... What is it with me and clichees today?


tal.