tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Jan 17 13:46:19 2014

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Re: [Tlhingan-hol] Status of the KLI / Re: centralised archive of new word sources (De'vID)

Robyn Stewart ([email protected]) [KLI Member] [Hol po'wI']

The KLI exists, holds an annual conference, and publishes works within its
mandate. I don't know what the membership is, or of any advantage to being a
member, as we don't restrict our assistance or resources to members. I'm not
even sure of the last time I paid membership dues or if they are still being
collected. Publication and mailing costs killed the paper serial of HoQeD
and I'm not quite sure what killed the subsequent electronic version. With
the exception of the defunct literary journal jatmey, so far all
publications have been foreign language works in translation. Members
coordinated by Lawrence do translation work for projects ranging from Bing
to the recent audio book "How to Speak Klingon." I participate in a weekly
Skype-based qepHom, two Klingon Facebook groups and attended the Saarbrueken
qepHom.  The tradition of qepHommey was established by the KLI, so even when
the event isn't organized directly by the KLI, I consider them KLI events.

At the moment the KLI is mainly a loosely knit coalition of people who care
about the language being used well. Unfortunately being used well and being
widely recognized are goals that can be slightly at odds, so popularization
projects can leave a bad taste.

What the KLI needs is:

*  a director who is as qualified, knowledgeable and steady as Lawrence, but
who isn't focusing most of his energy on an English-language science fiction
writing career. Perhaps an energetic assistant director who is able to
implement and extend Lawrence's vision. 
* the password to its own website
* a website and general social media presence as avant garde as the KLI
website was back in 1996. We have missed multiple opportunities to
capitalize on high-profile Klingon items, like the latest movie, the Bing
release, and every time some old Klingon story hits the media.
* teaching materials that match the way people want to learn languages these
days. In 1985 if you wanted to learn a language you bought a reasonable
dictionary and grammar and a couple of cassette tapes and you went at it.
And we liked it that way. But times have moved on and would-be learners are
confused and discouraged when there is not a social media-enabled
interactive video course with badges, flashing lights and hot chicks.
* more younger Klingonists who have the attitude required to learn and
promote the language. Most of the good speakers are in our forties and
involved with family, and career.
* a forum using modern technology and equivalent to the multiplayer online
environment many of us hones our skill in. A new version of the Quch Quch
that kids these days could visit on their smartphones.

Most of the projects require a high level of Klingon. We got burned by
Facebook who provided an interface for a Klingon Facebook translation but
didn't give us the tools to manage it in a way that it can ever be completed
to their satisfaction. It depends on votes from a large number of users, and
while lots of people would like to use Klingon Facebook, there simply aren't
enough good speakers for our "votes" to produce a clear consensus on
multiple but equally good translations of stings describing the cost of
impressions per click, to advertisers.

Myself I am supposed to be working on improving the Bing translation, but
I'm writing this e-mail and working on a Power Point presentation for work
and playing an online game ... the sort of people who learn Klingon for fun
are the sort of people who can be distracted from useful work by any manner
of interesting and esoteric things.

Projects that would probably be on the KLI website were it not trapped in
limbo, and whose authors would probably make them part of such a website
were one to emerge again include the Swedish Akademien Klingonska and
Lieven's continuation of the new words list.

Your message is a good one, and although you say you're not one to do all
that, what can you do? Are you a good coordinator? I'm a pretty good content
generator, but sometimes when  project is too daunting I don't do anything.
I need someone to figure out what to do with my content and elicit it in the
right sized pieces.

 - Qov

-----Original Message-----
From: Christoph Pichlmann [mailto:[email protected]] 
Sent: January 17, 2014 12:30
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Tlhingan-hol] Status of the KLI / Re: centralised archive of new
word sources (De'vID)

This seems like a good opportunity to ask - what's the current status of the
KLI?
Still active? A ruin with only the mailing list active? Dying and decaying?
Or perhaps finishing the last stages of chrysalis, waiting for the right
moment to emerge rejuvenated and renewed?

Wouldn't a centralised archive of new word sources be exactly what the KLI
is for?
It seems the "new" word list contains entries up to 2005.
The wiki is even more broken than the mailing list, btw.

I'm not trying to be a troll or a bastard, but it's a long time since the
KLI seemed to do anything or be anything. The website is in ruins, it looks
like there is nothing new. But maybe I'm simply ignorant because all I see
is the mailing list and the website? Perhaps the KLI does work miracles in
the background without ever telling anyone? In that case, talk about it
loudly - like on the front page, so people immediately see why the KLI
exists.

What is it the KLI needs? Active people? Money? Something entirely
different?
If it's money, set up a goal and ask for donations - I'm sure it could be
reached if there is a reason to spend money. (As in, things the KLI plans to
do, not just stuff to get for donations.)

Perhaps set up a kickstarter funding for a revived KLI. That way you might
reach people who didn't yet know the KLI but like the idea of it - if there
is reason to believe the KLI is worth giving money to it.

I do realize that the actual KLI is probably just one or two persons, and I
do understand that they have other things to do as well (like a day job or
having a life), but in that case perhaps more people should be involved -
surely there's plenty of klingonists with skill and time to help out.

Christoph

P.S:

Just to make sure: I'm not trying to act as if I'd be a person to do all
that - quite the opposite, I freely admit. But I would like to profit from a
working KLI (as in "Qap tlhIngan Hol yejHaD", not as in "vum tlhIngan Hol
yejHaD") - and of course I'd be glad to pay for that privilege.


> Is anyone keeping a repo of new word *sources* somewhere, not just the 
> new words themselves? I know Klingonska.org
> (http://klingonska.org/canon/) was doing something like this, but it 
> looks like it stopped adding new things in 2012.
>
> I ask because I have a couple of things for which the only source is 
> Facebook, and old Facebook posts are either no longer accessible, or 
> are difficult to access now and may disappear in the future. For 
> example, my only source for the term {ghIn pIn} is a Facebook message, 
> and similarly for some other things. It would be nice if someone is 
> collecting and copying these messages so that they're more widely 
> available.
>
> The Facebook groups are the most active Klingon language forums right 
> now. I think that's a little bit unfortunately, as Facebook messages 
> are not publicly accessible without a Facebook account. But you have 
> to go where the people are.
>
> --
> De'vID 		 	   		  
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