tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Apr 17 00:47:02 2002

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Re: to' nech



If you'd prefer I write via the list rather than in private email, let me
know.  I've learned over the years that some people consider direct contact
to be cowardly, though my opinion is exactly the opposite.  I'm just trying
to respect the purpose of the tlhIngan-Hol email discussion group, where
messages such as this are not approprate because they are neither in nor
about the Klingon language.

David Trimboli wrote:
>It would be better of Sean were to put together a Web page with the sayings
>on it, and provide us with a link to it, so that those who are interested
>can view them and comment on them in private correspondence with Sean.

You wrote:
>I asked for advice on what to do, and people suggested doing it the way I'm
>doing it now.

My email archives suggest a different interpretation of events.  You
mentioned your intended translation project, asked for advice on how to
present it, and provided a URL which didn't work.  You got at least one
private email urging you not to flood the list with translations.  I
noticed exactly *one* request via the list for you to send your translation
(by someone who was apparently under the impression that "Oblique
Strategies" was a story rather than a large collection of isolated phrases).

You then proceeded to flood the list with translations.  Without going back
and rereading them all, I estimate that about half of them had grammatical
or typographical problems of one sort or another, and about half of the
rest weren't particularly true to the original.  You responded to about
half of the corrections with thanks, ignored about a quarter of them, and
to the rest you replied with defensive words about how you weren't
"translating" but "restoring".

Since you began this project, I've seen a single note of appreciation (from
a newcomer who has been struggling with spelling and looking up words and
likely isn't yet capable of reading your notes with sufficient
understanding to comment on them intelligently).  I've seen at least four
people having great skill with the language tell you that what you're doing
is not appropriate.

Here's another thing I'm having a hard time enduring.  You consistently
answer every criticism of your approach with abusive attacks.  You
consistently respond in English, even to posts written in Klingon.  You
refuse to acknowledge any suggestion that you ought to show that you
understand Klingon well enough to communicate using it before you earn the
privilege of translating random text into Klingon.  And it looks like
you're starting to retreat into psychobabble defenses for your behavior,
though I admit that I have begun deleting long English messages from you
without reading them carefully when they're obviously not talking about the
Klingon language, so I might be misinterpreting your recent posts.

At least let me know you have read my plea for you to start writing in
Klingon instead of translating odd phrases and claiming poetic license when
you drastically change the meaning.  Even if you don't agree, I'd
appreciate some indication that the words actually are reaching your eyes.


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