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.