French list

[Marielle Lange]

Hi Xavier,

I am glad you followed up on this. I did not want to push too much in my
previous email, to avoid to appear rude to the english speakers of the list.
When writing my previous post, the idea of "newlang" ("novlang" for the ones
who read Orwell in French) popped to my mind. "Newlang" is an impoverished
language used by the state (in 1984 by Orwell) to better control the masses by
reducing the scope of idea they can have. Non English speakers are in a
"newlang" situation. The most frustrating about writing in another language is
that you are limited in the ideas you can express or the nuances you can
understand. It only takes a month abroad to learn enough of the language to
survive in the country. It takes a lot more to have a command of the language
good enough to benefit from advices given in a non-native language.

>The good this about them is that you get not mail mess, and you get
>an email when someone responds to your posts or in the subjects that concern
>your forum subject. Much smarter, less intrussive. If you're a member of
>monsieurx.com, you can activate this too btw. ;)

Same for the tikiwiki I use (http://revolution.lexicall.org/wiki/)... I
understand Xavier. It is difficult to be revolutionario at one level
(revolution) and stop being it at others (the fact that many groups and
associations have abandonned mailing lists and adopted forums like you
suggest).

The argument for mailing list is the (relative ease) of moderation. Revolution
company cannot afford to have any mishappening on the "official" list. Simply
because what happens on the list impacts on their credibility, as a company. I
share with you the belief that a community gets more benefit when trusting and
empowering its member than when fearing the damages that a black sheep could
cause. Still, free (community rather than company representative monitored)
speech environments can only be provided by hobbyists, not directly associated
with a trademark. Hence your initiative, hence my initiative. But, then, the
danger of having users take control is that this encourages a duplication of
resources (too much information to read)... and hesitation about joining
because there is no certificate of quality. It's not a problem when discussing
your passion of racing. It is a bit more when asking questions about a computer
language in the context of your work activity.

>You wanted to see hyper-blogging? Members of MonsieurX.com can choose their
>skins, interface language, receive update emails, etc... but you must
>login... yes... pain, damnation and forms from hell - but only if you care
>to reply... It's the price of comfort ;)

You have a new user! By my experience, unmoderated forums are often of very high
quality (user moderation is often stricter than what I moderator would dare to
impose)... and yes the information is so much easier to find (I have noticed
that some basic questions often come back on this mailing list).

>Imagine racing only with Jacky Ickx.

A countryman of mine :-)

>It's good to speak as many languages as you can!

Agreed! The first time we travelled abroad, my fiance (NZ) was surprised to see
me buy a language book. I never gave it a thought before. Wherever I go, I use
the time in the train or plane to learn a bit of the language of the country
and make sure I know at least how to say "thank you very much", "hi", and
"goodbye". In the past, I always had excellent experiences when travelling.
Things are quite different now that I live in the UK. It starts at the British
travel agency where the guy really do not understand that we ask to book a
flight out of a package deal (you know, the stuff that guarantees that you will
remain hidden behind walls with fellow countrymen for the length of your stay --
with eventually one or two group outings at pubs). When in countries like
Tunisia, we get treated in the most unfriendly manner when they hear me speak
English with my fiance... I really feel treated like a money pump! They change
of attitude when I switch to French (though, sometimes, annoyingly, they
comment on the good quality of my french ... for a foreigner... humpf, that's
it, I knew it, I have now a foreign accent when speaking my native language...
grrrr).

Sure, nothing beats English for the rapid communication of information-rich
content. I prefer to buy computer manuals and academic textbooks in English
than in my native French. But for the rhythm, the melody, the sheer beauty of
the written language, other languages are superior! English speakers would only
have their life enlighten by the posting of mails in other languages ;-). Who
knows, this may help improve their future traveling experience? [humour
intended]

Marielle