On Mon, 3 Mar 2008, Sandy Rhodes wrote:
> I wasn't online when conlangers first started communicating on the
> internet.
Welcome. I don't recall just when I joined the online community
regarding artificial languages, but it has been long enough ago that
I might be considered an old-timer.
> What was it like?
In the "old days" before a lot of Usenet newsgroups took off, there
were mailing lists, which still exist (perhaps even more so in these
days of Yahoo and Google). Way back when there was a mailing list
called CONLANG, hosted on a university computer server. This far out
I don't even recall how I first learned about it, but I joined and have
been a member of it or a successor ever since except for about three
months. (This was before Yahoo and Google search engines.)
In origin, CONLANG was about any constructed languages for any purpose.
Then the "auxlang wars" started, in which proponents of this or that
constructed international auxiliary language (conIAL) started mixing it
up. This seemed to be at somewhat cross purposes of those who build
languages for other reasons (such as hobby or art), so the list owner
created a new list, AUXLANG, strictly for conIALs. I only subscribe
to AUXLANG these days, but so far as I know CONLANG is still going
strong. The conIALists have gone their own way and left the hobbyists/
artists in peace.
> When there were only a dozen or so
> people in the early days, it must have really been exciting to see
> somebody say "I've just invented a new lang, and here are some
> details!" It must have been like hearing a big hailstone hit the
> roof, because it didn't happen very often.
In those days, to some extent, yes.
> Now with artlangers on the ZBB typically having half a dozen langs
> per person,
Some individuals work on multiple languages at once (which I personally
find hard to do), and some work on poli****ng one over a long period of
time.
> announcement of a new lang is more like the sound of one
> raindrop hitting the ground during a cloudburst.
Today, I would say so, yes. Tolkien's "secret vice" (if I recall
correctly the term he used -- I may not) has become much more of
an open and widespread hobby today.
> What would be big news in this environment?
Quite frankly, I'm not sure.
--
Paul Bartlett
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