I've been completely ignoring this topic pretty much since I got the
answer to my question. I personally have no interest in leadership, all
I care about is that whatever needs to be done, is done. As far as the
specific changes desired by what I'm going to arbitrarily call "the
selpa'i group", I haven't paid enough attention to know what they are,
so I can't give my opinion to them. If and when they are put into a
formal proposal to the BPFK, I'll review them and give them my vote(s),
as I'm sure the other BPFK members will.
The reason for this missive is simple. Be respectful or shut up. I am
not directing that statement at any one person specifically, so if you
think I might be directing it at you, the reader, you're probably right.
Petite bickering and insults will accomplish nothing.
Lojbab has himself admitted that he doesn't really keep up with Lojban's
changes, he's even said he still doesn't understand what xorlo does.
This does not mean he is not deserving of respect. He is one of if not
the founding father of Lojban, and has been involved to some extent
since before its inception. He therefore has years of experience under
his belt. At the very least, he knows better than probably anybody else
what has been tried in the past, what failed, and why. Regardless of
your personal feelings to the man's attitudes or mode of speech, he
deserves respect at the very least for those facts alone. I'm my opinion
he's pretty set in his ways and a bit crotchety, but I don't consider
either of those things to be negative. His is the force of historical
imperative, for Lojban at least practically the embodiment of knowing
history so as not to be doomed to repeat it.
The selpa'i group obviously wants to make changes, and my passing
glimpse leads me to believe that there's either a lot of them, or
they're pretty big, or both. They say, and I have no evidence to the
contrary, that the changes they desire are based on problems and
optimizations they've uncovered due to continued, daily use of the
language. The fact that this group has collectively strived to use
Lojban, conversationally, in itself is deserving of respect. This is not
obviously a Bad Thing. After all, change is inevitable, regardless of
the forces that act to prevent it, and stagnation equals death, in all
things. Theirs is the force of change, dynamism.
Neither of these things is bad, nor are they good, but both are
necessary. Change for the sake of change is purposeless, but so is
resistance to any change regardless of what it is. Neither stagnation
nor chaos is a desired outcome, as the former will kill the language,
and the latter will make it shatter into what amounts to unintelligible
gibberish by any outside the group of users.
Lojban is currently a prescribed language, and at least until some point
as it becomes the common language of at least one culture, as in the
first and possibly only language this group learns, I think it should
remain as such. That means that every change in the language that isn't
formally approved by the maintaining body- the BPFK- is "experimental".
There's no way around it. There's nothing keeping people from using
experimental valsi, but those who do use it have to accept the fact that
because they are, they stand a large chance getting the response "ki'a
[experimental valsi]". This was set up specifically to prevent language
schisms. That doesn't mean that changes to the language can not happen
and never will, it means that there is a system in place for formally
making changes.
Last I checked, the reason why no changes are allowed is because the
cmavo have yet to be finished documented, or in other words, the
baseline isn't complete, which is the only requirement preventing change
proposals from being looked at and voted for approval. And, just as
obviously, this barrier can be circumvented given good enough reason, as
happened with xorlo, and to a lesser extent dotside, which as far as I'm
aware is actually still officially an experimental change that just
happens to be a simple and good enough idea that everyone does it
anyway. I personally wouldn't have a problem with doing away with that
barrier altogether, except that it seems to be the only impetus anyone
has for finishing the documentation, which, I should add, is pretty
damned near finished. I would wager that if everyone who is in the
Lojban Google Group took one cmavo and documented it, we'd be finished
before everyone had a turn, and then the serious business of looking at
and voting on approval of change proposals could commence.
I don't personally have a problem with selpa'i taking on a leadership
role in the community. If he wants it, he can have it, as far as I'm
concerned. It's not like Robin couldn't do with having some of the
weight shifted to someone else's shoulders. I would willing to go so far
as to allow selpa'i, should he wish it, to have all the, for lack of a
better word, political power Robin currently has, not including the veto
or the power to select the BPFK membership, which I would prefer
remained in Robin's hands. I also wouldn't have a problem with selpa'i
having BPFK membership and the powers/duties that come with that. I do,
however, have to say that what I see proposed as far as this is
concerned, looks more like a coup or a mutiny, and I certainly don't
approve of that. I don't agree that the current system needs to be
changed. The problems aren't being caused by the members not caring, or
being tyrannical, but simply by the fact that there are things that must
be done before the things that all of us - and I use "all" loosely- want
to happen, can happen.
Okay, this has gotten very ranty. In conclusion, I think everyone needs
to step back, calm down, and be civil. If you want change, do it by
working with the current system, not by trying to overthrow it. If you
want some usage that is currently experimental to become official, write
up a proposal and submit it to the BPFK. More than likely it'll be put
on the backburner until the documentation is complete, but there's a
simple fix for that, too- help finish the documentation. But no matter
where you stand, please at least try to keep personal attacks, insults,
assumptions, and the like out of your position. A debate is a reasoned
discourse wherein two or more sides attempt to show the other(s) the
benefits of their positions, an argument is a bunch of monkeys throw poo
at each other. Stop being monkeys, put your poo in the toilet where it
belongs.