[lojban-beginners] Two ideas I think are cool...

[Hal Fulton <hal9000@hypermetrics.com>]

Two ideas:

1. For the "snob factor," assign a "number" to each person in the Lojban
community. A lower number indicates old-timer status, a higher one indicates
newbie status. Register all the lowest numbers (John Cowan et al.) manually,
then eventually throw it open to "first come, first served."

This idea is stolen from Tivoli (though it's probably been done elsewhere).
At that company, it was a playful kind of status symbol: "What, you're only
employee 325? Ha, beat you, I'm 297." Sometimes it was a little less than
playful, as the lower numbers had more meaning: "See that guy over there?
He's employee number 8."

2. A more practical idea:

A test of Lojban literacy -- like an SAT for Lojban speakers.
  -  Make it fine-grained, high-resolution. Four-digit score, like SAT or chess
     rankings?
  -  Separate sections for grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension, etc.?
  -  Make most (all?) of it computer-gradeable.
  -  Possible essay section? Could be computer syntax-checked. Would have to be
     human-graded for semantics.
  -  Randomize the question content so you never take the exact same test twice.
  -  Let the first test be free.
  -  Let people take it every six months for a small fee which supports LLG.
  -  Discount for students, I'd say. Or even free for people < 18.

A test like this could provide
  - an objective indication of your own Lojban knowledge
  - incentive to learn more
  - playful competitiveness or bragging rights


Tell me your thoughts...


Hal