I owe some of you an apology for asking you to take this off-line. I just
subscribed to a few other mailing lists, and I've found this one is the best
moderated, considerate, and topical of any of the active ones I could find.
This list is almost a safe haven for me now. There is something almost
orgasmic about slamming morons in a flame war, but I still prefer the
peaceful pastures of conlang.

Having said this now, I will even add something to this thread. I am very
open about my conlang bug. At first this provoked the type of "you are nuts"
negativity we are all familiar with. It took quite a few years of open
discussion before I learned my way of explaining it to people.

Me: "I spend most of my spare time developing an artificial language."
Them: "Why?!"
Me: "Why do people buy books of logic puzzles? Why do people read Discover
magazine? Why do people watch series television when the ending can almost
always be predicted? Linguistics is a very rich and complex field of study,
which makes it interesting."
Them: "But nobody will ever speak an artificial language!"
Me:"And Bob, nobody will ever sail your ship in a bottle, either."

That usually settles it, and upgrades me to the rank of "weirdo" instead of
"moron."

-----Original Message-----
From: Christophe Grandsire
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, January 14, 1999 1:26 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list CONLANG
Subject: Re: CHAT: Re: closet conlanging >> definitions?


At 09:59 13/01/99 -0500, you wrote:
>Douglas Koller wrote:
>
>> Section 34. Whoever commits the abominable and detestable crime against
>> nature [...]
>> Section 35. Whoever commits any unnatural and lascivious act [...]
>
>I hasten to assure any Massachusettensians who may be concerned
>that these statutes are mere flatus vocis, being unconstitutional
>on their face (for vagueness).
>

        It wouldn't be the first time that an unconstitutional law (for
vagueness)
would be used against a minority.

>--
>John Cowan      http://www.ccil.org/~cowan              [log in to unmask]
>        You tollerday donsk?  N.  You tolkatiff scowegian?  Nn.
>        You spigotty anglease?  Nnn.  You phonio saxo?  Nnnn.
>                Clear all so!  'Tis a Jute.... (Finnegans Wake 16.5)
>
>
                                                        Christophe Grandsire
                                                |Sela Jemufan Atlinan C.G.

"Reality is just another point of view."

homepage : http://www.bde.espci.fr/homepage/Christophe.Grandsire/index.html