Here are some 'net documents pertaining to the creation of the newsgroup alt.language.artificial, dedicated to artificial languages. Note: in the messages below, I have converted the > symbol to ) because > is reserved for HTML and its presence in the text might confuse some browser programs.
If you are interested in this topic, you are invited to join the discussion in alt.language.artificial. If your Internet service provider does not carry this newsgroup, ask the system administrator to add it.
From: hrick@magicnet.net (Richard K Harrison) Newsgroups: alt.config Subject: proposal: alt.language.artificial Date: 9 Sep 1996 Greetings. I'm writing to request that someone create the newsgroup alt.language.artificial ... The purpose of the newsgroup will be to provide a forum for messages in and about artificial languages other than those which have their own newsgroups/mailing lists (i.e. other than Esperanto, Klingon and Lojban).
From: Rick Harrison (71174.2735@CompuServe.COM) Newsgroups: alt.config Subject: alt.language.artificial Date: 11 Sep 1996 I posted this article from another ISP, but apparently it did not propagate. So excuse me for repeating myself if you have already seen this. I propose the creation of a newsgroup called alt.language.artificial for the purpose of discussions in and about invented languages, especially those languages which do not already have newsgroups or mailing lists for their supporters. This newsgroup could also handle discussions of language design in general. (There is a mailing list called "conlang" for the latter purpose, but the large amount of barely-relevant traffic in conlang -- more than a megabyte per month -- has made it less useful in recent months. In any event, the existence of conlang-list does not negate the need for alt.language.artificial, just as the existence of linguist-list does not negate the need for sci.lang) There is already a newsgroup called alt.language.urdu.poetry, so adding alt.language.artificial will not inflate the top-level hierarchy of alt. groups. I am not able to send newgroup messages from my ISPs, so I am asking for help from those who are able to do so. --- Rick Harrison (momentarily at 71174.2735@compuserve.com)
Subject: Re: alt.language.artificial From: phil@vision25.demon.co.uk (Phil Hunt) Date: 1996/09/12 Newsgroups: alt.config,sci.lang [crossposted to sci.lang] In article: <516TQ5$4M1$1@MHADG.PRODUCTION.COMPUSERVE.COM> Rick Harrison <71174.2735@COMPUSERVE.COM> writes: ) I propose the creation of a newsgroup called alt.language.artificial I think this is a good idea. I prefer the name alt.language.constructed, on the grounds that some people might consider it perjorative to call a conlang "artificial". ) There is already a newsgroup called alt.language.urdu.poetry, so ) adding alt.language.artificial will not inflate the top-level ) hierarchy of alt. groups. I agree; the alt.language.* hierarchy is a good place for it. ) I am not able to send newgroup messages from my ISPs, so I am asking ) for help from those who are able to do so. I'm not sure whether I am able to do so; I will find out. -- Phil Hunt
Newsgroups: alt.config From: Shawn C Knight (shawn+@andrew.cmu.edu) Subject: alt.language.artificial Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 13:56:38 -0400 Rick Harrison <71174.2735@COMPUSERVE.COM> writes: ) I propose the creation of a newsgroup called alt.language.artificial for ) the purpose of discussions in and about invented languages, especially ) those languages which do not already have newsgroups or mailing lists ) for their supporters. This newsgroup could also handle discussions of ) language design in general. (There is a mailing list called "conlang" for ) the latter purpose, but the large amount of barely-relevant traffic in ) conlang -- more than a megabyte per month -- has made it less useful in ) recent months. In any event, the existence of conlang-list does not ) negate the need for alt.language.artificial, just as the existence of ) linguist-list does not negate the need for sci.lang) I wholeheartedly support alt.language.artificial ... I think it'll be a lot more useful than a lot of alt.groups out there. (Granted, that last isn't saying much.) A lot of folks out there, I suspect, have a keen interest in "artificial" languages, and we'd love to have a forum in which to discuss this, one of the most challenging of hobbies. I vote yes, for what it's worth ... Someone should newgroup it soon if there isn't substantial opposition. -shawn Shawn C. Knight shawn+@andrew.cmu.edu http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/shawn/
Subject: Re: proposal: alt.language.artificial From: MORRILL@news.delphi.com (MORRILL@DELPHI.COM) Date: 1996/09/12 Newsgroups: alt.config hrick@magicnet.net (Richard K Harrison) writes: )Greetings. I'm writing to request that someone create the newsgroup )alt.language.artificial ... The purpose of the newsgroup will be to )provide a forum for messages in and about artificial languages other )than those which have their own newsgroups/mailing lists (i.e. other than )Esperanto, Klingon and Lojban). Yeah, I'd like to see this one. You might want to mention in the charter that computer languages should be excluded from the newsgroup.
Subject: Re: alt.language.artificial From: hrick@magicnet.net (Richard K Harrison) Date: 1996/09/13 Newsgroups: alt.config,sci.lang Phil Hunt (phil@vision25.demon.co.uk) wrote: : [crossposted to sci.lang] : I think this is a good idea. I prefer the name alt.language.constructed, : on the grounds that some people might consider it perjorative to : call a conlang "artificial". Well, I personally would prefer "alt.language.planned", and I imagine Jeffrey Henning would prefer "alt.language.model". I proposed "artificial" because the phrase "artificial language" is the most widely used term for these tongues, and is the phrase people are likely to use when they go to search engines looking for this kind of data. So I feel we should use a name that will make it easy for people to find the newsgroup. I don't know how many people are aware of the new, improved and politically correct term "constructed language." You can find the phrase "artificial language" in some dictionaries, and Andrew Large's book is entitled "The Artificial Language Movement"... I think "constructed language" is rather new and obscure at this point. : ) I am not able to send newgroup messages from my ISPs, so I am asking : ) for help from those who are able to do so. : : I'm not sure whether I am able to do so; I will find out. I think some of the "regulars" in alt.config will help us out, after the necessary period of discussion has elapsed.
Newsgroups: alt.config,sci.lang From: phil@vision25.demon.co.uk (Phil Hunt) Subject: alt.language.artificial Date: Fri, 13 Sep 1996 16:24:50 +0100 Reply-To: phil@vision25.demon.co.uk In article: <51AL7G$I8E@COMET2.MAGICNET.NET> hrick@magicnet.net (Richard K Harrison) writes: ) ) Phil Hunt (phil@vision25.demon.co.uk) wrote: ) : [crossposted to sci.lang] ) ) : I think this is a good idea. I prefer the name ) : alt.language.constructed, ) : on the grounds that some people might consider it perjorative to ) : call a conlang "artificial". ) ) Well, I personally would prefer "alt.language.planned", and I imagine ) Jeffrey Henning would prefer "alt.language.model". I proposed ) "artificial" because the phrase "artificial language" is the most ) widely ) used term for these tongues, and is the phrase people are likely to ) use ) when they go to search engines looking for this kind of data. So I ) feel ) we should use a name that will make it easy for people to find the ) newsgroup. This is a good point; alt.language.artificial is perhaps a better name after all. -- Phil Hunt
Subject: Re: proposal: alt.language.artificial
From: hmiller@io.com (Herman Miller)
Date: 1996/09/13
Newsgroups: alt.config
In article <512AO6$PE1@COMET3.MAGICNET.NET>, hrick@magicnet.net (Richard K Harrison) wrote:
)Greetings. I'm writing to request that someone create the newsgroup
)alt.language.artificial ... The purpose of the newsgroup will be to
)provide a forum for messages in and about artificial languages other
)than those which have their own newsgroups/mailing lists (i.e. other than
)Esperanto, Klingon and Lojban).
This is a good idea; the mailing list has been getting so many messages per
day lately that I have a hard time keeping up. With a newsgroup, I could just
follow the threads I'm interested in reading; it would be easier to find old
posts in Deja News than the conlang archives or my saved mail, and many people
who don't already know about the mailing list would be able to join the
discussions. (I thought that was what alt.lang.design was intended for when
it was created, not knowing that alt.lang.* dealt with computer languages
rather than languages spoken by people.)
alien/fairy/furry art-->> +--------------------
|"You have passed a law that will get less respect
Thryomanes (Herman Miller)| than the 55 m.p.h. speed limit dead bang in the
(hmiller@io.com) | middle of the First Amendment." - Steve Russell
Subject: Re: alt.language.artificial
From: spynx@sierra.net (Jack Durst)
Date: 1996/09/15
Newsgroups: alt.config
Shawn C Knight (shawn+@andrew.cmu.edu) wrote:
: Rick Harrison <71174.2735@COMPUSERVE.COM> writes:
: ) I propose the creation of a newsgroup called alt.language.artificial for
: ) the purpose of discussions in and about invented languages, especially
: ) those languages which do not already have newsgroups or mailing lists
: ) for their supporters. This newsgroup could also handle discussions of
: ) language design in general. (There is a mailing list called "conlang" for
: ) the latter purpose, but the large amount of barely-relevant traffic in
: ) conlang -- more than a megabyte per month -- has made it less useful in
: ) recent months. In any event, the existence of conlang-list does not
: ) negate the need for alt.language.artificial, just as the existence of
: ) linguist-list does not negate the need for sci.lang)
I also agree that we need an alt.language.artificial.* hierarchy. The
CONLANG list is just not enough to handle the traffic. If there is a lot
posted there, we can always expand
Sincerely,
jack Durst
Spynx@sierra.net
[this posting written in Net English]
From: Lux_Lucre@mindlink.bc.ca (Lux Lucre) Newsgroups: alt.config Subject: cmsg newgroup alt.language.artificial Date: Mon, 16 Sep 96 08:25:34 GMT For your newsgroups file: alt.language.artificial Discussion and samples of invented languages. CHARTER: This unmoderated newsgroup is a forum for discussion of constructed human languages including their history, technical and esthetic design considerations, practical applications, announcements of new publications and web pages, bibliographic data, specimen texts, and other relevant information. alt.language.artificial is not the appropriate place for discussing computer programming languages, the state of linguistics today, or detailed descriptions of natural languages; please take those topics to the appropriate newsgroups. THE NEED: The need for alt.language.artificial is demonstrated by frequent discussions of the topic in not-quite-appropriate newsgroups, and by the high volume of traffic in the "conlang" mailing list; some people have had to unsubscribe from the list due to mailbox overload. The existence of over 30 web sites devoted to the topic also indicates widespread interest. HISTORY: I proposed this group in alt.config on 9 September 1996. Seven messages supporting the proposal were posted and (as far as I know) no objections were posted in alt.config. One person expressed misgivings in the conlang list, but several others indicated that they favor the creation of the newsgroup. Therefore I humbly request that you honor this newgroup message. -- Rick Harrison (hrick@magicnet.net)
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